Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire
by Kudo Shiho - The Inspirer
Summary: A collection of flashback Arcs and sub-stories of the original Empire story. These are flashbacks from the original story in a nutshell. Read that story before reading this one to understand. This is how the legendary Empire came to be. WARNING : Alternate universe, Harem, Older Naruto, neutral/grey Naruto, Godlike Naruto, Non-centric plot, Elements From One Piece, etc...
1. Kirigakure Arc: Prologue

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 1: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons and Evil Spirits... Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **Prologue**

 **Kirigakure, The Mizukage's Office...**

"Mizukage-sama!. " The voice of a disturbed Kiri Shinobi interrupted the thoughts of the young Mizukage who sitting behind his office and resting his head on his joined hands.

"Yes, what is it?" The Kage asked rather coolly, his face was almost completely obscured by his Kage hat. His voice cold and emotionless, the Kiri Shinobi resisted the urge to gulp and hurriedly straightened his posture before answering professionally…..

"We have confirmed intel that the revolutionaries are preparing for another attack in a week's time from today."

"Is that so? Very well then, strengthen the defenses around the village and alert our Shinobi to prepare for the attack. Inform the remaining members of the seven swordsmen that each of them should ready and assemble two squads of hunter nin to intercept the revolutionaries before they reach the village." The Kage issued his orders swiftly and calmly. The Shinobi quickly nodded and used a Shunshin to leave and carry out his orders, leaving the Mizukage by himself.

"Fuguki…" The Mizukage whispered in the darkness of his office, and as soon as the name left his mouth, two men appeared kneeling from the shadows.

"Hai, Mizukage-sama." The man named Fuguki replied in a respectful tone. Fuguki is a member of the **Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū** **(Seven Ninja Swordsmen Of The Mist )** and a man with long, orange hair that reached into his back with some pinned up at the top. He also had six green stripes on his face. He had small round eyes and sharp jagged teeth. He wore a striped jumpsuit of Kirigakure, a black outfit over it as well as a white cloak/robe over it and a large sword wrapped in bandages strapped over his shoulder via a large belt decorated by a tassel. He also wore the Kirigakure forhead protector and standard shinobi sandals, as well as bandages wrapped loosely around his neck.

"I assume that you heard it all." It wasn't a question and Fuguki knew it, so he just nodded and answered quietly….

"I did." The Mizukage nodded back, satisfied with his answer.

"Then I believe that know what you're supposed to do, right?" Fuguki silently nodded again.

"Good. Tell me then, whatever brings you to my office?" The Mizukage asked monotonously.

"I just wanted to have your approval for a decision that I made…." Fuguki paused and raised his head slightly to glance at his leader, when he saw that the Mizukage stayed silent, he took it as a sign for him to continue.

"I decided to recruit this young man to act as a guard for the **Angōbu (Cypher Division)**. It would be dangerous for the safety of the village if the codes they have were taken by another village, I believe that my subordinate here is strong enough to protect the squad and our secrets." Fuguki said, gesturing to the man who came with him. The man was very tall and muscular. He had a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, blue skin. He has small, round, white eyes, 3 sets of curved facial markings under his eyes, gills on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth. He wore the standard outfit of the village, complete with a flack jacket and a forehead protector.

The Mizukage slowly moved his eyes to gaze at the man, regarding him silently for a few moments before he turned his gaze back to Fuguki.

"Do you trust him to be strong enough to handle this job, Fuguki?" He asked. Fuguki instantly nodded without hesitation.

"Yes, Mizukage-sama." The Mizukage fell quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer before he did an almost unnoticeable nod and said quietly…

"What's your name?"

The young Shinobi appeared startled by the sudden question, but he composed himself and answered respectfully….

"It's Kisame Hoshigaki, Mizukage-sama." The Mizukage nodded silently at him.

"Ok, you have my approval. Don't disappoint me, Kisame." Even though his voice was toneless, both Kisame and Fuguki felt the hidden warning in his words. Kisame smiled slightly and nodded, showing his jagged teeth.

"I wouldn't even dream of it, Mizukage-sama." The Mizukage didn't respond, he stood up from his seat and went to the large glass window behind his desk, gazing down at the village with an emotionless expression.

"Very well, now on to your new mission, Fuguki. The revolutionaries are becoming more and more annoying with each passing day. If we managed to exterminate those vile **Kekkei Genkais (Bloodline Limits)** before their next attack, then their cause will be meaningless, and their fighting spirit will dwindle." Both Fuguki and Kisame nodded in agreement with his words, with Fuguki asking quietly…..

"Your orders, Yagura-sama."

The Mizukage, Yagura, turned his shadowed face towards his loyal subordinates, his eyes seemed dead and void of any human emotions as he stated stoically….

"Assemble Kiri's Shinobi, your mission is to kill every single Kekkei Genkai user in **Mizu no Kuni (Land of water)** before the end of this week." The two Kiri Shinobi grinned slightly, their physiques oozing bloodlust.

"Hai, Mizukage-sama." Fuguki replied with subtle glee in his voice.

"You're dismissed." Yagura stated as he turned around to continue staring at the buildings of Kirigakure, clearly hearing the telltale 'puff' sound of the Shunshin jutsu being used by the two Shinobis.

In the recesses of Yagura's mind, a voice quietly whispered with a hint of sadness and regret…..

"You're not aware of what you're doing or what you're about to do, Jinchùriki of mine. If only there was anything I could have done to prevent this from happening…." Hearing no response from his companion, the owner of the voice heaved a solemn sigh.

'If only….. '

 **Three Days Later , An Unknown Village, Mizu no Kuni….**

A purple haired boy ran hastily through the streets of the small village. His red eyes were wide with fear and his steps were urgent, even though he was huffing from fatigue, he was still running.

'I have to get to the orphanage quickly! They're on their way!.' The boy thought in alarm, forcing his tired and fragile body to move. Since he was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't notice the man who was coming through the ally leading to the village's orphanage.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, freak!" Exclaimed the rugged-looking man as he glanced down at the kid who bumped into his legs, immediately recognizing the infamous child.

The red-eyed boy glanced up at the hulking figure of the man from his place on the ground, though he quickly lowered his gaze and said in a quite whisper…

"I'm-I'm sorry." The man grinned wickedly and crouched in front of him, he smirked and said snidely…..

"It doesn't matter if you're sorry. The Mizukage's troops will arrive here very shortly…

" He drew his face closer to that of the anxious child.

"... and when they do, we will finally be rid of you and you're two kittens. And the best thing about it, your blood won't be on _our_ hands. Hahaha!"

The child froze from the man's words and his eyes dilated with fright, he fearful gaze followed him as he walked away, laughing in what the boy thought was a cruel manner. After a few seconds of staring at the man's back, he furiously shook his head and got up from the cold ground.

'No! Get yourself together, Ranmaru! Don't listen to him!' the boy named Ranmaru reprimanded himself and continued running towards the orphanage building at the end of the ally.

 **Inside The Orphanage, A Certain Room….**

"Boo!" A white haired, 3 years old girl giggled as her older sister by two years played with her.

"Again!" The child demanded delightfully, her black-haired sister grinned and hid her face behind the pillow again.

"Boo!" She repeated as she revealed her face again, making a silly expression and causing her younger sibling to chortle.

But suddenly, the door of their room was flung open violently, the girls immediately stopped their game and looked at their tired friend, who was hunched on his knees, gasping for air.

"What's up, Ranmaru?" The older girl asked In confusion. Her sister cocked her head to the side and stared at him in worry before she asked tentatively….

"Nii-san?"

Ranmaru lifted his head and the girls were shocked into silence by the horrified look on his normally calm features.

"Kuroka, we have to get out of here! Quickly!" He yelled frantically as he walked towards Kuroka with hurried strides, taking her by the shoulder and grasping her sister's tiny hand, dragging them outside of the room.

"Wait just a second, what's the big idea, Ranmaru?!" Kuroka asked in surprise as she was dragged through the corridor by Ranmaru.

"There is no time to explain!" Ranmaru answered vaguely. Kuroka frowned and struggled against his grip, rooting her feet to the ground and refusing to move from her place, causing him to stop and look at her annoyed expression.

"I won't budge unless you tell me what is exactly going on." She folded her hands over her chest and stared at him expectantly. The boy sighed, knowing full well that she really wouldn't move unless he gave some kind of explanation, so he decided to give her a short summary of the deep trouble they're in right now.

"Look, we don't have much time. In every second we waste, they're getting closer and closer. They want to kill me, and if they knew that you two are my friends, they will want to kill you too. So, lets just get as far away as possible from the village for the time being, I will explain everything later." He practically begged, his eyes pleading her to just do as he says and stop being stubborn. Kuroka's eyes dilated in astonishment and she exclaimed rather loudly…

"Who wants to kill you and why?!" At her words, a woman who was walking towards them dropped the empty tray she was holding. The three kids stared at her as she crouched down and picked it up, noticing the mysterious smile she had as she passed them by without saying a single word.

"Shh! Be quite…." Ranmaru hushed Kuroka with his hand, who only tilted her head in curiosity. "I said that I will explain later, so lets go, alright?" He whispered harshly before turning around and walking hastily towards the exit.

Kuroka was about to follow after him when she felt a tug on her hand, and looking down, she was greeted with the fearful gaze of her little sister.

"Onee-chan….. I'm scared." Shirone whispered shakily. Kuroka's heart constricted at the sight of her normally smiling sister being all shaken up by the possibility of this threat that Ranmaru seems so distressed about. She smiled assuredly and held Shirone's hand tighter.

"Don't worry, Shirone-chan. Everything is fine." She said and Shirone smiled slightly, feeling more at ease, unaware that Kuroka didn't even believe her own words.

"Kuroka, Shirone! Come on!" Ranmaru shouted from the exit door.

"Hai, Ranmaru nii-san!" Shirone yelled back cheerfully and bounded towards Ranmaru, having regained her upbeat nature after Kuroka consulted her. Kuroka smiled softly at the back of her precious sister and strode behind her with her hands clasped behind her back.

'Maybe this will not end up so bad, we can overcome this.' Though when she noticed that her best friend still has that frightened look in his eyes, she didn't feel so sure.

The three children ran towards the edge of the village as fast their small legs can take them, leaving the civilians to gaze at them in confusion, wondering where the three cursed kids are going.

 **At The Same Time, At The Outskirts Of A Nearby Village…**

A group of five teenagers were walking through the dim forest at a slow pace towards the unknown village.

"Finally! I can see the village. Haku said that her old house should be uninhabited, and if its not, then we will just have to suck it up and crash in a hotel or something." Said the sole boy of the group, his age was 16 years old, he had mixed colored hair and a sword was strapped to his hip.

"This better not end up being a waste of time, Naruto." A red-haired girl grumbled as she walked alongside Naruto, her gloved hands tightly clenched at her sides and her face impassive, giving her an intimidating appearance.

"I have to agree with Tayuya on this one. I left my research just because you asked me to tag along on this mission, and because of the possibility of acquiring information about the Uzumaki clan's history. I still need more materials for my inventions, and I need even more funds for my work to be fruitful." Stated another red-haired girl who wore glasses, her hands folded over her chest and her eyes were closed.

"You two shouldn't be so pessimistic. I guaranty that this will be a thrilling journey. But seriously, this country is just way too foggy." Retorted a girl who had purple hair, if one observed her closely enough, they will notice a little skip in her steps, she was giddy, that's for sure. The fourth and final girl snorted at her comment and replied sarcastically…..

"Welcome to Kiri, I guess, Anko" She had purple hair too, on her back, a large cross-shaped black sword was strapped. Anko just shrugged at her obvious sarcasm and replied in the same manner….

"I was just saying, no need to be mean about it, Yugao-chan." Yugao just shook her head and closed her eyes with a sigh.

"Girls, we don't have time to bicker. Let's just get to the house quickly, get some rest and formulate a plan to infiltrate Kirigakure." Naruto said in an attempt to calm the four equally annoyed and disgruntled girls, well three if he excluded Anko since she seems to be enjoying herself. It worked as they all nodded and sped up their pace towards the village that their friend had once called home.

 **A Few Hours Later, Outskirts Of Kirigakure…..**

A red-haired woman gently rested against the trunk of the tree which she was standing on one of it's branches. She was short in stature and had two swords strapped over her back and wore bandages around her neck. At first glance, she appears to be sleeping peacefully, but if one looked closer, her breathing was heavy and erratic, and small beads of sweat were rolling down her forhead.

"Ummm…. Ameyuri-sama." A nervous voice interrupted the woman from her slumber.

"Hmmm?" She grunted in response, cracking one tired eye open to gaze at the nervous Kiri hunter nin, the hunter nin fidgeted under her gaze, feeling like a helpless prey and knowing that she can take his life right now if she wanted, regardless of whether they were on the same side or not. He prayed in his head that she wouldn't kill him in anger after hearing the news he has to deliver, he took a deep breath and reported to his superior in a professional manner…..

"We received some urgent and quite dangerous info, Ameyuri-sama….."

 **To Be Continued…..**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	2. Kirigakure Arc: A Consummate Plan

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 2: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits… Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **Formation Of The Royal Shichibukai… A Consummate Plan!**

"And what, pray tell, is this dangerous info, huh?" The swordswoman asked with a hoarse voice, irritated that her nap was interrupted.

"The revolutionaries, they…." The hunter trailed off, looking quite uncomfortable. Ameyuri raised a skeptical eyebrow and said….

"They…..?"

"They are moving towards us right now, our scouts have spotted their troops heading towards Kiri. Their attack is today!" The hunter nin spoke up in a fast pace, finally acquiring the courage to speak. The red-haired woman stared at him, her eyes wide and mouth slightly opened in surprise. She stood up abruptly and clutched the front of his vest, pulling his face to her eye level.

"What are you babbling about? Didn't you say that they will be attacking _next week?!"_ The poor shinobi quivered like a leaf in front of her enraged face, her eyes were blazing with fury, her chest rose and fell with deep huffs, like she was struggling to breath , and sweat poured down her face. She was angry and in pain, he realized.

"Th-the information regarding that, t-turned out to be false, Ameyuri-sama." He stuttered, she narrowed her eyes at him and hissed…

"How dare you bring me untrue information? You should have checked!"

"I'm sorry!" He almost squeaked in fright. She glared at him for a few moments, veins started to bulged on her forhead and more sweat dripped down her chin. The hand holding his vest shook slightly, the hunter nin shut his eyes tightly, resigning to his fate and waiting for the killing blow to come.

When nothing happened after a few seconds, he chanced to open an eye, only to witness the sudden shift in his superior's attitude, she seemed more tired than angry right now. With a slight push, she shoved him away from her and put her palm on her head, wincing ever so slightly and taking deep breaths.

"Next time, check the validity and trustworthiness of your sources, I do not want this mistake to repeat itself. Because, if it happened again….." She started with a faint voice, slowly lowering her hand to hold the left side of her face, and the hunter nin froze in fear from her chilling glare.

".… your life will be the compromise for such a grave error." She finished darkly, even when she was visibly in pain, the bloodthirsty smile which bloomed on her face terrified the Kiri shinobi to his core.

"It-it will not happen again, Ameyuri-sama. B-but I believe that this was all part of the revolutionaries plans." The hunter gulped and took a few steps back, fearing the worst. The swords wielding woman sighed and folded her hands over her chest, closing her eyes and dropping her head as she did so.

"Whatever the case maybe, what matters is that now we now the correct timing of the attack. Inform the rest of your subordinates and have them on standby, tell them to mobilize and wait for my order to move out and intercept these dammed rogues."

"Hai, Ameyuri-sama!" The shiniboi bellowed with a salute, thanking Kami and whatever other Gods that allowed him to live through this.

"Now get out of my sight before I lose what little sympathy I felt for you." Ameyuri replied coldly. He immediately noticed her threatening tone and used a Shunshin to flee before she changed her mind about forgiving him, leaving the woman alone.

"As temperamental as ever, huh, Ameyuri-sama?" Asked a voice as three individuals landed on the branch, right in front of the tired Ameyuri.

The red-haired woman glanced at them and grinned weakly, and unbeknownst to the three shinobi, she was having difficulty in making out their appearances, her vision was starting to get blurry, whether if it was from her illness or from the amount of sweat covering her face and eyes, she was not sure, neither did she care.

"Well, well… If it isn't the newbies!" she greeted them in a 'friendly' manner, but all of them heard the mocking undertone of her voice, which caused two of them to scowl slightly, while the third one just grinned and replied….

"This will be hard on you, right? I heard that you were childhood friends with the leader of the revolutionaries, Mei Terumi." He said with a grin that perfectly hid his suspicions. Ameyuri blinked twice before she started chuckling….

"Fufufu…. You don't have to _worry_ about my mental state so much, Kisame. Mei chose her path and I chose mine, she's the one who betrayed my trust, betrayed her village and her Kage. I think of her as my friend no more." She retorted while smiling menacingly, having detected the undertone of suspicion in his seemingly innocent question.

"How can we be sure that we can trust your words?" Asked the second shinobi. He was a teenage boy of sixteen years old. He had shoulder-length, white-coloured hair and pointed, shark-like teeth. He wore an outfit which consisted of a black, sleeveless shirt, light-purple-coloured pants and striped leg-warmers typical of his village, a normal Ninjato was strapped to his back, and he carried a water bottle attached to a belt around his waist.

Ameyuri glanced at the boy who was only three years younger than her and chuckled quietly to herself again….

"You can't. The question now is, how are you going to make sure of whether if I'm lying or not, Mangetsu ?" She asked her question, staring at him with a challenging grin

Mangetsu's scowl deepened and he opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Kisame…

"You're sick…." The shark-like man stated confidently, bluntly mocking and pointing out Ameyuri's weakened stated, while threateningly reaching his hand for his own Ninjato.

But, before he can grasp the blade, a pair of uniquely designed swords made a cross-shape around his neck, trapping it like a paper in the middle of a pair of scissors.

"Careful there, buddy…." Ameyuri smirked at Kisame's shocked expression, and drew her sweat-covered face closer to his, standing on her tiptoes to reach his height.

".… even when I'm ill, I can still kill you quite easily, rookie." She whispered in his ear, and even though he would never openly admit it, he shivered slightly from the amount of menace in her voice.

The smirk of the seasoned member of the seven swordsmen only widened from his reaction, she slowly drew back her formidable Kiba swords from around his neck and stepped away from him.

"I'm not like that coward, Zabuza. He bit on more than can chew, and was left with the disgrace of running away with his tail between his legs, probably licking wounds pathetically somewhere right now. His arrogance and stupidity were his downfall. _If_ I wanted to turn on the Mizukage, I would have done so a long time ago, and even more cleverly and efficiently." She assured the young shinobi. Turning her frosty stare towards the other two boys, who were still stupefied from her swift retaliation to Kisame's threat earlier, she let her eyes wander to the last boy and she raised a delicate brow.

"Why did you bring this kid along with you, Mangetsu? He wouldn't be of much help against the opposition."

The nine years old child seemed to take offense to her words, so he stepped forward and stared up at her since she was much taller than he was. He had straight white hair with a light-blue tint to it, almond shaped purple eyes, and pointed teeth. He wears a purple, sleeveless shirt with blue pants, sandals and a belt around his waist with water bottles attached to it, and Ninjato strapped on his back.

"I'm not a kid, you take that back!. Me and Mangetsu nii-sama are going be members of the seven swordsmen in the future, you will see! So, show us some respect!" The child yelled out loud, his apparent older brother, Mangetsu, felt his heart stop and the blood froze in his veins.

'He did _not_ just yell in the face of a member of the seven swordsmen. Kami, please tell me he didn't?!'He thought in legitimate horror. And before his younger brother could utter anything else and make the situation worse, Mangetsu covered his mouth with both of his hands before could say something that would in him losing his head.

"Suigetsu, stop it!. Don't you who you're talking to?!" Mangetsu scolded his younger brother, who only made a muffled 'humph!' sound against his palms.

"I'm sorry for his rudeness, Ameyuri-sama. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive his indolence." Mangetsu quickly into a hasty apology, now knowing full well that the woman is more that capable of carving them all up even if she is severely weakened by her sickness, hoping against hope that she would just let go. He was shocked, however, when Ameyuri threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"Fufufu…. Hahaha! Well, color me impressed!. That little brother of yours has plenty of bravery stored inside that little body of his, I like that!" She said in glee, visibly pleased by the actions of Suigetsu.

Suigetsu just continued glaring at her from behind his brother's hands, while Mangetsu heaved a sigh in relief. Ameyuri, however, ignored all of that and turned her gaze back to Kisame who was looking at the scene with an empty stare, lost in his own thoughts.

"Anyways, whatever brought you here in the first place, Kisame? Weren't you chosen to be the bodyguard of the Angobu division?" She curiously, snapping Kisame out of his thoughts.

"Umm… Well, Fuguki-sama is taking my place for today. Mizukage-sama thought it necessary to have me be with the forces that will fight the revolutionaries." He answered with slight nervousness, having not forgotten that the short woman in front of him had _almost_ cut off his head not too long ago. The red-haired woman shook her head and grinned slightly in response., her breathing was getting erratic once again

"So its going to be only me, huh? Whatever, it doesn't matter. You three should go and wait for me on the ground with the rest of our forces, we are heading out right now." She ordered, the three young shinobis nodded and swiftly went away.

"We shouldn't have done that! We came this close to death because of your stupidity, Kisame-san!. apparently, she can still fight and kill us all of us, even if she's sick. It was stupid to challenge one of the seven swordsmen, they're Kirigakure's strongest force after the Mizukage himself!" Mangetsu whispered angirly to Kisame as they were leaving to regroup with their unit.

"Its all Raiga's fault, he's the one who told me that she has been weakened by her illness. That liar!" Kisame growled in response, swearing that he will give Raiga a piece of his mind when he sees him again, if there is one thing KIsame had no tolerance for, its being told lies.

 **A Few Minutes Later….**

Ameyuri grinned a bloodthirsty grin as she and the rest of her subordinates hopped on the trees towards the revolutionaries forces, who were also heading their way.

'Misleading information, huh, ginger? You seem to finally understood that underhanded methods and dirty tactics are required sometimes. Fufufu….' She thought to herself, using the nickname she used to call her former best friend by, her grin getting bigger as her blurry vision managed to spot several figures moving towards them from the opposite direction through the fog.

'The world isn't black and white, Mei, you have to learn that.' She started to chuckle hysterically as she made out the figure who was leading the opposing forces, a womanly body with flowing long hair.

'Our world has no place for heroes, Mei!'

 **Around The Same Time, Haku's Old House, Living Room….**

"Wow, the years really did take their toll on this place." Anko said as she traced her fingers on the dusty couch.

"Its still better than nothing, I suppose." Karin replied, sitting on an armchair.

"At least the furniture hasn't been stolen, that's a relief." Yugao added, she and Tayuya preferred to stand than sit on the dirty chairs.

Naruto plopped down the couch without even cleaning it first, causing a cloud of dust to burst out from the couch, which made his companions cough and glare at him or shoot him annoyed stares in Anko's case.

"Oh, well. We wouldn't stay here for long anyway." He grinned back at them, pretending that he didn't notice their glares. Taking out a small bottle from his pocket, he opened it and started gulping whatever was inside.

Tayuya frowned and walked over to him. Snatching the bottle from his hand, making him stare up her in with surprise.

"This is no time for you to get drunk, we still haven't discussed what we are going to do to complete this mission yet. You're the one who dragged us here with you, so act more like our leader." She scolded him harshly, pensively staring at his face.

"Come on, Tayuya-chan. This isn't a strong brand of sake, it wouldn't get me drunk, so its safe for me to have a few chugs. Give it back." He whined, reaching for the bottle.

Tayuya glared at him with a skeptical gaze, doubting his words. She raised the bottle to her eye level and stared at it for a few seconds, before lowering it to her mouth and taking a testing sip. After gulping it down, she nodded slightly in approval and gave the sake bottle back to Naruto.

"You were right, it isn't that strong." She admitted with a dissatisfied grumble, annoyed that she has been proven wrong, Naruto just smiled at her gratefully and continued drinking his favorite beverage.

"You know, I have been thinking…." Naruto started suddenly, gaining the attention of the four girls. He put the bottle on the table in front of him and put his intertwined hands under his chin, looking at his friends with a thoughtful gaze.

".… this idea has been floating in my mind for awhile now. I want to instate a new branch in the marines."

The girls raised an eyebrow in interest, looking quite intrigued.

"A new branch? What is it going to be?" Anko asked excitedly.

"It's name is going to be… The **Shishibukai (Seven Warlords Of The Sea)**." Naruto answered her while smirking, the purple haired girl blinked and echoed in confusion….

"The Shishibukai?"

"I admit, that's a nice name." Yugao commented with a quite chuckle.

"The name does not matter, what matters is the purpose. Now, what will the job of those so-called Shishibukai be?" Tayuya asked monotonously, folding her hands over chest.

"That is correct. How will the empire benefit from this new branch, Naruto?" Karin asked her own question. Naruto smiled and relaxed his back on the couch, putting his legs on the table and answering confidently….

"Fairness and stability."

"How so?" Tayuya challenged, walking to stand in front of him, frowning.

"The Shishibukai will be a special branch in the navy. You know that Uzushiogakure has eight districts which are full of civilians, excluding Wano."

"Yeah, so?" Anko replied, looking just as confused as the rest of the girls. Naruto glanced at her and said….

"So I cant keep track of the circumstances of all the civilians in these states. The Shishibukai will act both as navy officers, and as ambassadors of each of these states, they will be the representatives of the people of each state, bringing me monthly reports of their economical state, complains, construction requests and things of that nature."

The four girls widened their eyes in shock, not because the idea wasn't good, but because of its components.

"But that will give these seven individuals a political standing, marines have never and should never get involved in politics, regardless of whether it was internal or external!" Tayuya stated angrily, raising her right foot and slamming it down on the same table which Naruto was resting his feet on.

"Tayuya is right. Giving the Shichibukai that much political pull wouldn't be wise, they will get rights to participate in the Reverie with the Kages and royals who are leading the states of the empire. The marines are the military arm of the empire, the shishibukais cannot be part of the marines if they are going to be apart of the political order as well, neither Marineford or Enies Lobby have such rights, that's absurd!" Karin added her criticism, looking quite scandalized.

"They're necessary. I can't rule this vast empire without making sure that my followers and subjects are content, what kind of an emperor would I be if I catered to the capital and gave little attention to the other districts. They should have someone who speaks for them, as much as they should have a powerful force who would protect them if they were attacked. The distance between Uzu and the rest of the districts is quite long, what if the marine reinforcement were late while one of these districts was under attack? What if I wasn't present in Uzushiogakure at the time? These people will surely die, and they're my responsibility, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that the people who accepted my rule and gave me their trust died because I didn't give them as much attention." Naruto stated firmly, looking both Tayuya and Karin right in the eyes. The admiral and head scientist bit their lips in frustration and thought about his words. After a few moments of intense silence, Karin gave a solemn nod and closed her eyes, smiling gently, while Tayuya sighed and put her foot down on the ground.

"Those are the words of a true emperor. You do care after all, guess I was wrong in thinking that you were just trying to earn people by sweet talks and kind taps on the back. You never fail to defy my expectations, Naruto Namikaze." Tayuya said in a surprisingly soft voice, smiling slightly, and if one looked closer, they would see the faint blush on her cheeks.

'Maybe you will be the one who will manage to steal my heart, Naruto.'

"Ok, now that we have agreed on this proposition, who do you have in mind to be members of this branch, Naruto?" Yugao asked, looking like she's bored, she didn't really mind his idea all that much, and to be honest, she didn't care.

Naruto grinned and raised his index finger towards the four girls.

"For starters, I was thinking about you three…" He announced as he pointed at Karin, Anko and Yugao. The three girls blinked a couple of times before his words finally sank in, causing them to exclaim comically…..

"What?!….."

"But I'm an active Cp-9 agent! I can't have three jobs at the same time!" Anko protested, the other two also looked like they were about to voice their own protests, but Naruto held out his hand and said….

"Don't worry, I've already thought of will be working part-time as a Cipher Pol agent, Anko." Naruto said.

"What do you mean by part-time? Please enlighten me." The purple-haired girl demanded for an explanation, folding her hands.

"I mean that you will act as a Shichibukai for the most part, but you can still be summoned by Tsume Oba-san on the more difficult assassination missions, you are one of the best assassins Cipher Pol has, I'm aware of that." He answered.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the CP-9 unit would lose a valuable member in Anko." Tayuya pointed out. Naruto glanced at her and replied….

"Then Sora will take her place."

His statement was met with four astonished stares, Anko scowled and stomped towards him.

"The kid!? You would replace me with a kid!?" She yelled in his face, slightly blowing back his hair with the strength of her yell.

"You can't be serious, Naruto! Cipher Pol number 9 is one of the strongest units in Enies Lobby, only the best and the most cold of heart are allowed to be members of it, and you're going to enlist a nine years old child into such a thing!? Tenten is the **Naga (Chief)** of CP-9, I doubt that she would agree to that!." Karin shouted.

"Cipher Pol isn't like Marineford, Naruto, you know that perfectly well. It is not a place for children, the agents are trained to become the best of assassins, they're taught _not_ to feel, _not_ to have morals, just complete the mission without leaving a trace, no strings attached, how can a child like Sora handle such things?" Yugao asked calmly.

Naruto shrugged and replied casually….

"Well, the kids who are allowed to enter Cipher Pol are those who are naturally more aggressive than the rest. Sora fits that description, as does Sakura, I haven't seen any of you complaining when Sakura joined Cipher Pol."

"That's only because Sakura cannot be a marine, she is much too aggressive and unhinged, she's prone to making hasty and extreme decisions that would jeopardize the assignment of a team. We in the marines cannot take the risk of appointing her as a protector of the civilians, because she could very well hurt them herself." Tayuya rebuked his statements. The young emperor turned his gaze towards her.

"Isn't that exactly what Sora is like? Didn't he almost break one of his classmate's hands because of a simple squabble? Hostile individuals are the ones eligible for Cipher Pol, but its also made for those who can't function in a team. Both Sakura and Sora cannot work in teams, both of them are better suited to work solo, and both of them have that natural cruelty and callousness which Cipher Pol requires in spades. Admit it, even if he is just a kid, Sora is made to become an assassin, a heartless cold-blooded killer." He stated seriously.

"I can't argue with that, nor can I deny it. Sakura and Sora are Cipher Pol material indeed. Your logic is sound, Naruto." Karin stated, nodding in agreement and showing that she supported his decision.

"But still-" Anko started but Naruto interrupted her.

"This proposition has already been presented to Tsume Ba-san and Tenten-chan, both of them agreed on recruiting Sora as your replacement. So, it's no longer in your hands, no matter what you think about it." He said with finality. Anko frowned slightly, but then shrugged carelessly and replied…

"Well, If Chusa-sama **(Commander)** agreed to it, then I guess that its really not up for discussion anymore." She said, sitting beside Naruto on the couch and lifting his sake bottle from the table to drink from it.

"What about me? I already have my job as the head scientist, and I _do_ like this job by the way, not to mention that I'm this close to reaching a breakthrough on my most important projects. Sure, I can fight and I'm pretty strong even among the monsters of the empire, but neither I nor Anko and Yugao have that much knowledge on politics." Karin said while folding her hands over her chest, gazing at Naruto with a dissatisfied look.

"And I have my own job as a Kenjutsu instructor, I still haven't finished training Mito, Sezumebachi and the other young marines and Cipher Pol agents who aspire to use a sword masterfully and gracefully in battle instead of swinging it around like an iron bar." Yugao added her own concerns about losing her job.

"You don't have to lose your jobs, you will get to do them as part-time jobs just like Anko would, remember that you will only have to give me reports on a monthly bases as Shichibukai, and about being marine officers, due to your positions as district governors, you wouldn't get called unless if its for the toughest of assignments, the ones that will need the interference of a Shichibukai. You will have your own new lab built in your district, Karin, and you will have a reserved space for training your students, Yugao. Tsunade Baa-san will teach you about politics, just like she taught me before you, she is an expert on the field, and I'm quite confident that she will make skillful politicians out of you in no time." Naruto explained to them with a smile, the girls were silent for a while, carefully weighting their options and judging his plan for this Shichibukai system.

"So, do you accept your new positions as the first three members of the royal Shichibukai?" Naruto inquired after a while, the three girls looked at each other and nodded once, accepting his offer.

"Well, when you put it like that, I don't mind this Shichibukai thing that much anymore, it could be fun!" Anko grinned at him and snaked her hand to wrap around his neck and over his shoulders, raising the sake bottle to her mouth and taking noisy gulps.

"As long as I wouldn't have to abandon my ambitions as a scientist, I don't see a reason to refuse." Karin said with a soft smile, adjusting her glasses and standing up from her chair to shake Naruto's hand in a business-like fashion.

"Whatever, my students will still get to learn the fine art of using a blade from the best sword user in the empire, so I do not have anymore complains about being an ambassador." Yugao said with a shrug, leaning her back on the wall behind her. "But, have you asked Tsunade Baa-chan for her opinion on this decision?"

"Yes, she already knows about this new system and she supports my proposition." Naruto answered hurriedly as he wrestled with Anko for the sake bottle which she was gulping down while keeping him at arms length from reaching it. The other girls simply sweat-dropped at the scene until Tayuya had enough and grabbed the bottle from Anko's outstretched hand, drinking all of the sake in it and throwing the now empty bottle through the window and outside of the house.

"What the hell, Oni girl!?/Oh, for Kami's sake, Tayuya-chan!?" Both Anko and Naruto shouted in surprise and scrambled for the window, staring longingly at the empty bottle on the ground below while anime tears rolled down their faces.

"It was the best sake I ever had, and that was the last of it!" They lamented dramatically, comically bowling their eyes out.

"Yeah, yeah, what a harsh reality we live in, right?" Tayuya asked them sarcastically as Yugao and Karin giggled in amusement. "Now can we please go on with our plan?" She added impatiently.

Both Naruto and Anko dragged their feet back the couch and sat down, Anko pouting and Naruto grumbling to himself about somethings like 'Tayuya-chan's cruelty' and things like that.

"Now that I've got your attention, what's the plan, Namikaze?" Tayuya asked, straight to the point as usual, Naruto and the others grew serious at her question.

"Well, as far as we know, this country is on the brink of a full on civil war between the Mizukage and the revolutionaries. We can use that to our advantage." Naruto said with a small smirk.

"And how will we be able to do that?" Karin asked while the rest stayed silent to hear his answer.

"Yugao-chan will be our trump card." He said vaguely, the girls shared confused glances before it finally clicked in their minds, and Naruto smirked even wider when he saw the realization in their eyes.

"Yugao is a skilled and powerful Kenjustsu user, arguably the best in the entire world." Tayuya said with a smirk.

"She didn't make that much of a recognizable reputation when she was in Konoha as a simple small-time Shinobi….." Karin added, smiling that bright smile which she only gets when she successfully makes a new invention or solve a puzzle that has gained her interest.

".… Meaning that neither the Mizukage or the revolutionaries will suspect that she is not from Mizu no Kuni, since they have little to no real information about our empire." Anko finished Karin's words, grinning in excitement from this plan.

"Which means that I'm the perfect spy." Yugao said calmly with a small smirk, her head was facing the ground and her hands folded over her chest, her eyes were closed as she continued to lean on the wall.

"Exactly…" Naruto started while smiling at them, pleased that they were able to rival him in terms of intelligence.

He stood up from the couch and walked over to where Yugao was standing, causing her to open her eyes and stare up at him since he was a few inches taller than her, his close proximity made her blush slightly and avert her eyes from his face, he smiled at her and pushed a few locks of fascinating purple hair which were covering her face to the back of her ear, and he continued…

"Our beautiful Yugao-chan will go to Kirigakure by herself. She will claim that she was born in a small rural village near the borders of Mizu no Kuni, then she will demand to have a meeting with the Mizukage and ' _pledge'_ her allegiance to him if he showed up, and then…. She will ask him to enlist her as a member of the seven swordsmen."

 **To Be Continued…**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	3. Kirigakure Arc: A Bittersweet Reunion

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 3: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits… Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **A Bittersweet Reunion… Who Betrayed Who?!**

 **In The Outskirts Of Kirigakure….**

The sounds of clanking steel, the smoke of explosions, and the cries of Jutsu names reverberated through the misty forest as the battle between the revolutionaries and the Mizukage's troops raged on.

In the middle of all of this, two women stared each other down as their weapons clashed. A red-haired woman, and a tall slender woman who had green eyes, and ankle-length auburn hair.

"Long time no see, Mei." Ameyuri Ringo stated casually while grinning, struggling against her childhood friend for dominance, her Kiba blades pushing against the Chōkuto of her adversary.

Mei Terumi narrowed her eyes at her former friend, and replied in a stoic voice that betrayed no emotion…

"I see that you're still the same as ever, Ame. Always finding something amusing in every situation."

"Fufufu… " Ameyuri just giggled and pushed Mei away from her using her swords, her face was covered by sweat and she drew ragged breaths.

"What's there to not laugh at, huh?" She asked and dashed towards Mei, not waiting for an answer. Her Kiba blades struck Mei's sword, unleashing sparks upon contact. Mei gritted her teeth and felt her legs almost sinking in the ground from the strength of Ameyuri's swing, she glared at the grinning swordswoman.

"You betrayed me, Ameyuri. I trusted you, I loved you and considered you the sister I never had, but you stabbed me in the back. There's plenty of things that you shouldn't laugh at in this war, Ameyuri!" She spat out with passionate hatred. Her enemy didn't seem the least bit fazed by her accusations, as she only grinned at her in response, making her even more furious.

"Fufufu… I didn't betray you Mei, remember that you were the one who walked out on your own village, you were the one who rebelled against your Kage. If anything, you are the traitor here, ginger… " Ameyuri replied in an amused tone, Mei's eyes widened from her words, giving her the opportunity to push her away once more and point her swords towards her.

" **Raiton: Raiga! (Lightning Style: Lightning Fang)."** The Kiba blades immediately sent out bolts of lightning Chakra towards Mei, who managed to get her bearings and jump out of it's path before it hit her, her hands weaving through hand seals.

" **Yōton: Yōkai no jutsu! (Lava Release: Lava Apparition Technique).** " Using her Lava bloodline, she spat a large amount of a strong acidic mud flow in the shape of a wave, Ameyuri didn't show any sign of surprise and leapt high in the air above the trees, causing Mei's acid to hit the ground and spread through it, causing the earth and the trunks of the trees to start melting away slowly and fall down one tree at a time.

The red-haired swordswoman only grinned at the sight below and landed gracefully on the branch of a nearby tree which was about to collapse from the acid, she jumped to another tree when the one she was standing on fell over and started hoping through the forest trees, slashing and stabbing any revolutionary ninja that was unfortunate enough to get in her way, all the while chuckling sadistically to herself.

She suddenly turned around and raised her swords above her head in a cross-shape, just in time to block the downward swing of Mei's Chōkuto.

"Fufufu, this... This reminds me of the past, ginger. When we used to train and spar together until our bodies collapse from exhaustion. We made an oath to each other that we won't be damsels in distress, that we will prove that Kunochis can be stronger than Shinobi, do you still remember these times, Mei?" Ameyuri asked curiously, her voice was hoarse, still grinning as she struggled to push Mei's blade back. Mei only grunted and said with a sneer…

"Yes, I do in fact remember those times. I remember how you were - and _still_ are- so selfish. You never cared about me, Ame, you never cared about anyone but yourself. You always got what you wanted, giving no regards to how it will effect those around you, treating everyone around you as your puppets, even me, your so-called best friend!." Mei shouted and pushed harder against her enemy, causing Ameyuri to stumble back a couple of steps.

"I never treated you as a puppet, Mei. I cared about you, but you turned out to be too naïve." Ameyuri replied heatedly as her grin slipped away for the first time since this battle began, being replaced by a small frown, her forhead veins bulging as a testament of her anger. She gathered her strength in her leg muscles and marched forward, pushing Mei until her back hit the trunk of the tree they were standing on.

Mei released an 'Oomph!' sound when she felt her back collide with the hard surface of the tree's trunk.

'How can someone of her stature have such strength?' She asked herself in amazement, staring down at the swordswoman with wide eyes.

Ameyuri grinned once again and lifted the Kiba blade which she was holding in her right arm, thrusting it forward to stab Mei's chest. The leader of the revolutionaries widened her eyes and escaped via the Kwarimi no jutsu, seconds before the blade struck her, causing the Kiba to stab a hole in the tree, and Ameyuri to grin wider.

'Where did you run away to, ginger?' She wondered, however, she was shocked to hear the sound of her former friend coming from the ground below…

" **Futton: Kōmu no jutsu! (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique).** " A cloud of acidic mist soared towards Ameyuri from the ground below, the swordswoman reacted quickly and leapt of the branch before the mist started to dissolve it.

'Oh, your other bloodline, huh? But still, you have to do better than that, Mei! Fufufu!' Ameyuri chuckled while in mid-air.

'Just where I wanted you, Ameyuri. ' Mei smiled briefly in triumph and immediately fired a follow-up jutsu straight towards the still airborne Ameyuri…..

" **Suiton: Suiryùdan no jutsu! ( Water Release: Water Dargon Bullet Technique).** " A large dragon made of water headed towards the swordswoman, who was too shocked to dodge in time.

'What the…?!' Ameyuri immediately held her swords in front of her as a shield, knowing that if she was hit directly by the water, then it will cause her a fair amount of physical damage, which she can't afford right now with her decaying health.

Mei smirked as she watched her jutsu heading straight towards her former friend.

'What are you going to do now, Ame?... '

The water dragon slammed into Ameyuri with a ferocious force, sending her flying back, coughing up blood and some spit. The veteran swordswoman fell violently in an open area a couple of meters away, her face was set on a grimace, a thin line of fresh blood ran down the sides of her mouth, and her hold on the Kiba blades shook.

'D-dammit all to hell, I think I broke a rib or two thanks to that landing.' She cursed and stood up with difficulty, feeling a headache because of the way her head slammed into the ground, and a numbing pain from a couple of contusions on her arms and shoulders caused by the strength of the water Jutsu.

Just as she managed to successfully stand up, Mei came running towards her from the opposite direction, her Chōkuto held in front of her to strike. Ameyuri saw her blurry image and reacted purely by instinct.

"Take this!" Mei yelled as she went for a side slash, Ameyuri skillfully blocked it by her Kiba blades, and since she can't actually see clearly for the time being, she decided to use a Jutsu that doesn't require much vision. The Kiba blades started to emit electrical sparks through and around Mei's sword, causing the auburn-haired woman to gasp in shock.

'She can't possibly…. ' She saw the bloodied grin on Ameyuri's face, as well as the lightning Chakra which enveloped her body, and felt her heart sinking…..

"Fufufu-hahaha! **Raiton: Bakurai! (Lightning Release: Depth Charge).** " Ameyuri announced with a maniacal laugh, expelling a powerful bolt of electricity from her body, electrocuting both Mei and her sword at the same time.

The leader of the revolutionaries screamed in agony as she was thrown back by the force of the powerful Jutsu, slamming on the ground a couple of meters away, electrical sparks still coming out of her body, as well as from her Chōkuto.

"You almost had me there, Mei. Guess I have to – cough-take you a bit more seriously now." Ameyuri said menacingly and walked towards her fallen prey slowly, coughing every now and then, pain was visible in her eyes, but she refused to summit to it and kept on walking, electricity danced around her body and her Kiba blades.

'I won't go down so easily, Ameyuri. The people of Mizu no Kuni have depended on me to gain their freedoms. ' Mei struggled to stand up and held her sword firmly, ready for battle once again.

Ameyuri grinned when she saw Mei getting up after taking such a hit, she raced towards her and their weapons clashed once again, lightning flying around their blades.

"Fufufu… I always admired your guts, ginger. You're one of the few people who could stand up to me and match me after all, fufufufu!" Ameyuri stated gleefully, staring at the determined expression of her childhood friend in sadistic pleasure, sweat poured down her forhead, her vision blacking out every now and then.

Mei actually smiled a little for a brief moment, but then she scowled and went for a downward swing, which Ameyuri blocked.

"Why did it have to come down to this, Ame, to the point where we're about to kill each other?!" Mei screamed as she started a full on attack of slashes and swipes, betrayal, hurt and anger were visible on her face and in her tone of voice. Ameyuri stayed silent and continued evading and blocking her attacks, but her face had no grin anymore.

'Dammit! Every time I try to attack her, these cursed blades shock me with electricity, my hands are becoming numb.' Mei thought in worry, she was losing her strength rather quickly because of the powerful ability of Ame's remarkable swords.

"Answer me! Why have you turned on me, Ringo?!" She yelled out her pain and rage at the top of her lungs, slamming her blade against the twin-swords owned by the woman she once called sister. Ameyuri only stared at her with a blank expression and pushed her away, raising her swords over her head and muttering quietly….

" **Raitō Justu: Rakurai (Lightning Blade Jutsu: Thunderbolt)**... " The Jutsu summoned a bolt of lightning from the sky which shocked Mei violently, causing her to grunt in pain and drop her Chōkuto, falling to the ground a fair distance away from the experienced swordswoman.

'Sh-shit…. ' The fallen leader of the revolutionaries cursed in her thoughts, her hands trembling and her teeth clanking together because of the voltage cursing through her body. She faintly heard the footsteps of her former friend from her place on the ground, and reached her shaking hands into her Kunai pouch, taking out a Kunai in each hand.

"I didn't turn on you, Mei. I still consider you a sister of mine." Ameyuri finally replied to her earlier questions, trudging slowly towards her laying form, electricity dancing around her, she would sway slightly with every step, and Mei took notice of that but didn't think much about it.

'What's she holding in her hands?' The swordswoman asked herself, straining her eyes to see clearly, she grinned weakly when she finally managed to spot the Kunais in her friend's grasp and immediately closed in on her, her Kiba blades poised to deal the final blow.

'Now!' Mei thought urgently, thrusting a Kunai upwards, just as she felt one of the Kiba blades carving her left shoulder.

The Kunai sank into the lower part of Ameyuri's stomach, her black eyes dilated in shock, and she spat out a large amount of blood. She glanced down to see the weapon plunged into her stomach, her own blood dripping from it and from Mei's hand. She slowly raised her head, seeing Mei holding her bloodied shoulder while grimacing in pain.

"W-well played – cough-, ginger…. " she smiled at the auburn-haired woman, blood seeping out from the corners of her mouth, but her smile vanished as she fell into a coughing fit. Mei only stared in shock at her former friend, who was still hunched over her, one of her blades buried in the ground near her face, while the other was still lodged in her shoulder.

"Wh-what the hell? You should be able to take a stab like this like its nothing, Ameyuri, what's wrong with you?!" She demanded for an answer, the swordswoman continued coughing up blood, but she opened her eyes and stared at her silently, and Mei was shocked to see that her eyes were losing their focus. The leader of the revolutionaries gasped in shock when it finally downed on her….

"You're ailing. " She said with wide, disbelieving eyes. Ameyuri did not respond and instead, she jumped back and stood holding her stomach, grinning a small bloody grin. Mei got back on her feet, holding her shoulder, and stared at her former friend with something akin to either worry or pity.

"Ame… you're dying…. " She whispered quietly, a little hint of sadness in her voice.

"Fufufu – cough-. What does it matter?... " The red-haired woman rasped out with a sneer, putting the Kiba blades over her back. "… Who would care if I died, would you Mei? You, the one who's still accusing me of betrayal? I doubt it, Fufufu…. Hahaha!" She said mockingly and started laughing hysterically as her hands finished doing the hand seals for her Jutsu.

' **Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Water Release: Hiding In Mist Technique).'** A large amount of mist poured out of her mouth, successfully obscuring Mei's vision.

The revolutionary leader narrowed her eyes and put her guard up, surveying the surrounding trees and straining her senses to figure out where Ameyuri is.

"You did betray me, Ameyuri. Otherwise, why don't you explain to me why exactly are you on _his_ side?" She asked with seething anger, furious that her enemy still thinks that she didn't betray her trust.

"Fufufu…. " She heard the signature chuckle of her friend coming from the tress. "I'm not on the Mizukage's side, Mei. I didn't kill even a single bloodline user under his orders, how could I when my dear sister is one of them? Hahaha!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning rushed towards Mei from the right, but she managed to scarcely evade it by jumping to the side.

"However…. " Ameyuri voice continued talking as Mei turned kept trying to locate her.

"… I'm not on your side either, ginger. I'm on my own side, I just want to sit back and enjoy the events as they unfold. Because this…. This is the turning point in the history of this country, and I want to enjoy every moment of it." She finished her speech with a cruel laugh, sending another lightning bolt which Mei ducked under.

"So, all you want is to satisfy your sick craving for witnessing blood flying everywhere, is that it? Is that why you're acting as one of Yagura's dogs? Yagura isn't acting like himself, Ame, you know that! So why are you still following his orders?!" Mei shouted amidst the mist, wanting, no, needing to get an answer.

"Fufufu…. It doesn't matter to me if he's being himself or not. You see, humans, no matter their personality, all have cruelty seeping within them, that gets excited from seeing _blood and death,_ that's entertainment. I'm not anyone's _dog_ , Mei, you should know that I don't accept that, I don't have enough money to cure my disease, so I need to stay in Kirigakure to raise it up from my mission payments. I don't expect you to have the funds for that, do you? Only a medical-nin of Tsunade Senju's caliber could cure me, and I doubt that she would do it for free."

'I see..…. ' Mei thought in realization.

'… everything makes sense now. You're not loyal to the Mizukage, Ame, nor did you break my trust in you. You're only keeping up appearances for your own goals, how selfish, but very typical of you… Sis.' She sighed in relief, feeling like a huge weight have been lifted from her heart, the thought of Ameyuri betraying her has broken her heart and caused her emotions to go haywire. But, knowing the truth, that Ameyuri have never considered her or other bloodline users as vile creatures like the Mizukage and his forces did, she felt eminence relief and comfort, now she knows that she never lost her sister from the start. But, if that's the case, then why's Ame trying to kill her?

Before she could voice her confusion, Ameyuri chose that moment to speak again…..

"What about you, Mei? Why are you fighting this war? Is it because you want to be the hero or something, huh? A hero complex, perhaps? Because you're also a bloodline user? Don't make laugh, ginger! I assure you that all of your efforts, all of your commitment to this cause, it will all be wasted in the end! " Ameyuri shouted from somewhere in the forest, anger was evident in her tone of voice. Mei recoiled in shock as if she was hit by a train, but then she scowled and yelled back…..

"I'm fighting because this isn't right! What the Mizukage is doing is _evil_ , Ame! The bloodline users have done nothing wrong, he can't just order their deaths simply because they exist! Where's the humanity in such an order, where's the justice in such actions?!"

"Fufufu…. So, you're saying that you would bring justice to the bloodline users by fighting Yagura?!" Ameyuri answered her questions with her own. Mei gritted her teeth in frustration and bit out…..

"Yes, we will. We're right, and we will _not_ lose. You just sit back and see for yourself, Ameyuri." Mei responded with the utmost confidence.

"Fufufu-hahaha! Oh, this is rich!. The revolutionaries are the righteous ones? The Mizukage is evil? Is that what you're saying? These terms have always changed throughout the course of this country's history!" Ameyuri rebuked the statements of the revolutionaries leader, sending another bolt of lightning which Mei jumped away from once again.

"Regardless of your twisted perception of this war, justice will prevail in the end!" Mei yelled passionately, preparing to use a Jutsu.

"Justice will prevail, huh?! Of course it will, because the victors of this war will become justice!" Ameyuri responded as she came flying down from the tree which was in front of Mei, her trusted Kiba blades cackling with lightning Chakra. Mei reacted quickly and fired her Jutsu at her maniac of a sister in all but blood.

" **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique).** " She expelled a powerful torrent of water from her mouth and towards Ameyuri. Ameyuri smirked as the water torrent neared her.

'Not this time, **Shunshin no Jutsu!** '. Mei narrowed her eyes in suspicion when she heard a strange sound.

'That sound….. The Shunshin Jutsu!'. Her eyes dilated in shock and she started to turn around quickly, catching a glimpse of a lightning covered blade going straight for her neck.

She closed her eyes and waited for the Kiba to send her head flying. But, she heard a clanking sound and opened her eyes slowly.

"I'm afraid that I can't allow you to kill Mei-sama, Ameyuri-san." Said a middle aged man, who had blue hair which is styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye was blue and his right eye was covered with an eye-patch. He wore a talisman in each ear with the kanji for a humble form of "to hear" written on them twice on each side. He also wore the standard striped, grey suit, with a green haori that had white trimmings that stop halfway down, over them. His Ninjato holding Ameyuri's electricity-covered Kiba just a few inches away from Mei's neck.

Mei just stared in surprise.

'That's… '

"Aō!" Ameyuri growled, her eyes narrowing in both fury and pain, the veins on her sweat-covered forhead bulging slowly.

A shadowy figure came down from the tree behind Ameyuri, intending to stab her in the back while she was distracted. However, another person came and clashed with the attacker with their own blade.

"Ah, ah, ah. Back stabbing isn't as fun, is it, Chōjùrù?" Mangetsu asked the attacker, Chōjùrù, with a relaxed smile, his Ninjato pushing against his.

"A-as if-if I could land a hit on _the_ Ameyuri R-Ringo using another way." The boy named Chōjùrù replied with a stern/hesitant expression, stumbling over his own words. He has short, tufty blue hair, and dark eyes. He also has pointed, shark-like teeth. He wore square, black-rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, a blue pin-striped shirt and camouflage pattern pants. Despite the situation they were in, Mangetsu sweat dropped.

"Man, you have some serious self-esteem issues, don't you?" He commented half-heartedly, causing Chōjùrù to scowl and try to push harder against him.

"Aō!/Mangetsu!, what are you doing here?!" Mei and Ameyuri asked, or demanded, Mei with bewilderment and Ameyuri with annoyance.

Ameyuri pushed Aō's sword away and jumped back across from the three revolutionaries along with Mangetsu, holding her stomach and grimacing slightly, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.

'D-damn, my disease is getting worse by the second, I have to finish this quickly before I blackout.' She thought.

"Mei-sama, I'm sorry to say this but, all of our troops have been defeated. One by the name of Kisame Hoshigaki killed most of our forces, we don't have enough manpower to continue this battle, Mei-sama. We should retreat." Aō stated seriously, looking at their enemies and taking slow steps backwards. Mei frowned but nodded, while Chōjùrù came up to her and handed her her Chōkuto.

"Thanks, Chōjùrù." She thanked him with a small smile, causing him to blush brightly and duck his head.

"You will not escape. Mangetsu, step back!" Ameyuri ordered her subordinate and stabbed her Kiba blades in the ground, electricity forming around them.

'That Jutsu!' Mei gasped and quickly took Chōjùrù's hand, dragging him away and jumping on the nearest tree branch, Aō following behind them. Ameyuri smirked weakly at their running forms and announced….

" **Raiton: Sandàgéto! (Lightning Style: Thunder Gate).** " The Kiba blades sent out an electrical charge towards the sky, causing multiple bolts of lightning to fall from the sky, decimating the open area and burning a few of the surrounding trees to a crisp.

'Good luck, Mei.' Ameyuri thought with a small grin, knowing that they have survived.

"They escaped…. " Mangetsu commented from the tree he standing on, not seeing any bodies, when he turned his head to look at his superior, he was shocked to see her falling down on one knee.

"Ameyuri-sama!" He yelled in shock and ran towards her, Kisame, Suigetsu and the remainder of their forces arrived at the scene, all having shocked faces from witnessing a member of the seven swordsmen in such a fragile state.

Her breathing was faint, blood seeped out of her mouth and from her stomach, and she had a couple of bruises on her arms and legs. Mangetsu and one of the hunter nin quickly came up to her side and helped her to stand up on her feet, each putting one of her arms over their shoulders.

"Ameyuri-sama, we won. You look like you can't go on any longer, remember that you're sick, I think it is best if we let them go for no-" The hunter nin was immediately silenced by one of the Kibas slitting his throat open. The other Kiri Shinobi stared in shocked silence as his lifeless body dropped in front of red-haired woman, his blood pooling out at her feet and staining her sandals.

"Don't you – cough-even dare finish that sentence, we will pursue them. I never – cough-miss my prey." Ameyuri stated stoically and walked forward just a couple of steps before she finally lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground.

"Fuck! Let's take her to the village, quickly! Mizukage-sama won't be too happy to know that one of his strongest assets died because we let her!" Kisame ordered as the rest of the Shinobi nodded in agreement and took Ameyuri back to Kirigakure, they will celebrate their victory later.

A distance away, Mei and the remnants of the revolutionaries gathered together as they went on their way back to their base. Their trip through the forest was quite, their expressions gloomy and reserved from the defeat they suffered at the hands of the Mizukage's forces, their plan for a surprise attack completely backfired.

"I-I can't believe this! We a-almost got fried!" Chōjùrù' said in panic, still having mini heart attacks from Ameyuri's last attempt to burn them to ashes. Aō nodded grimly in agreement.

"That's Ameyuri Ringo alright, such power. I guess it is true that not even a hundred Chùnin could beat her." He said.

Mei was about to add something, but she felt a strange weight in her pocket and fished out what was inside of it, finding it to be a letter. She slowed down a bit to let the others precede her and opened the envelope, a couple of papers fell out from it, so she crouched down and picked them up.

'These are the codes of the Angōbu! As well as the weak points in Kirigakure's defenses!' She gasped and quickly read the letter which came with the informative papers.

 _See? I'm not as heartless as you think I am, Mei. These codes will surely help you gain some form of upper hand over Yagura. So, do make this even more fun, more interesting, Mei, OK? fufufufu-hahaha!._

 _Oh, and for your information, I still have those glasses and that feather coat which you have given me on my last birthday before you left, I quite like them actually. They do make me look and feel fabulous! Fufufufu!._

Mei sweat dropped when she read that last part.

'Well, this is from Ameyuri alright. I haven't seen anyone else writing their own laugh in a freaking letter.' She just shook her head as a small grin made it's way to her face, remembering how her best friend was always such an eccentric person. However, she frowned after a few minutes and clutched the letter and the papers to her chest, biting her lip with uneasiness.

'But, I'm not so sure. I know that you didn't let those lightning bolts strike us, and you haven't fought me with a full intention of killing me. Because if you did, one of us would have been dead right now. But despite that, I still can't fully trust you, Ameyuri.' She lifted her gaze to stare at the direction of Kirigakure with a worried frown.

'Could this be another one of your sick games… Ame?'

 **To Be Continued…..**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	4. Kirigakure Arc: Innocent Tears

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 4: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits…. Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **Innocent Tears!**

 **Concurrently, A Village Near Haku's Village…..**

"Shirone, wait! Don't get too far away from us!" Ranmaru shouted with worry, seeing as Shirone was running far ahead of him and Kuroka.

"You're the ones who are slowing down, Nii-san!" Shirone shouted back joyfully, climbing up a small hill that would lead to the next village, a small village which housed a number of families of bloodline users.

"This is not a game, Shirone-chan! Slow down a little, OK!?" Kuroka yelled, and blinked when she was met with silence.

'What's up with her?' She asked in her thoughts, staring at her sister's back, who suddenly froze on the top of the hill, her shoulders were slightly shaking.

"Shirone?" Kuroka asked with worry, Shirone still didn't respond. Ranmaru frowned and started walking up to her slowly.

"Shirone, what's wrong?" He inquired with concern.

The white-haired child slowly turned her head around to face them, and the older children were shocked to see tears flowing out of her eyes.

"Nee-san… " She hiccupped and suddenly bolted towards Kuroka, burying her head deep in her stomach. Kuroka, who was still too shocked and confused to say anything, just embraced her to herself and let the girl cry on her clothes.

Ranmaru snapped out of his shock and immediately ran to the top of the hill where Shirone was just standing, and what he saw below rooted him in his place completely.

'Kami-sama… what in the world happened here!?'

Bodies, countless dead, cold bodies. Men, women, children and elderly, blood everywhere. Some laying on their backs, some on their stomachs and some on their sides, slit throats, bloodied Kunais sticking out of their persons, signs of torture on their bodies, their eyes eternally frozen aghast in fear. The sight was so revolting, so disgusting, that Ranmaru had to force his eyes close and look to the side, drawing shaky breaths and clenching his fists so tight to the point where they turned pale, fighting the urge to vomit. From a distance, he heard a horrified gasp…..

"Who would d-do something like th-this?" Kuroka asked shakily as tears welled up in her eyes, staring down at the massacre below.

"Nii-san.. Are we going to die like them?" Shirone's muffled voice came out from against Kuroka's stomach, she was still crying and holding onto her sister for dear life.

"This is why we're running away, right? This what we're running from, isn't it, Nii-san!?" She asked again with a louder voice when she noticed Ranmaru's silence, and when she tried to lift her head to look at him, her sister pressed her head tighter against her.

"Don't look, Shirone!" Kuroka commanded with a stern and dead serious tone of voice, surprising Shirone who could only nod and do as she said.

"No…. " Both sisters glanced at Ranmaru as he turned around to face them with a determined expression.

"… you will not die, I won't allow it. I would rather die than let any harm befall either of you!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, causing both sisters to widen their eyes in shock. The purple-haired boy turned around and started to walk among the bodies with his head bowed, his hair covering his eyes.

"Shirone, close your eyes and hold onto Kuroka's hand. We have to keep going forward, this isn't the time to have cold feet. Kuroka, can you handle guiding Shirone through this?" He asked pointedly, nodding his head slightly towards the bodies. Kuroka wiped out her tears and stilled herself, giving him a serious nod, although she was still shaking slightly.

"That's good, now let's go straight to the next village. This village is no more." Ranmaru ordered, the two sisters slowly strode behind him in silence, Shirone had her eyes closed as Kuroka guided her movements.

Ranmaru glanced to the side and was met with the terrified gaze of a dead boy, a boy the same age as him, killed in such an inhumane manner, his only sin was that he was born with a bloodline. Ranmaru choked and forced back the tears which were threatening to spill out of his eyes.

'We have no time to cry. Stay strong, Ranmaru! For their sakes!' He thought, shutting his eyes tightly and walking a little faster. The sisters reached him and walked beside him.

"You have a bloodline, don't you, Ranmaru?" Kuroka asked in a small, quiet voice. If Ranmaru was shocked or surprised by her deduction, he didn't show it, he just nodded slowly. The black-haired girl smiled a small smile and said…

"Don't worry….. They won't get you, they won't get us." She said, trying to cheer him up. Ranmaru looked at her smiling face and immediately turned his head to the other side, the smile didn't reach her eyes, fear and hurt clouded those gorgeous hazel eyes, he couldn't bear to look at her, and he hated himself for causing her such pain, its all because of him. Kuroka blinked in confusion when he shied his gaze away from her, but she was interrupted by Shirone before she could ask him about it…

"E-eh!? Nee-chan, something's stuck on my shoe!" Shirone said in panic, she didn't want to open her eyes and see what it was, fearing that it would be blood or someone's organs.

"Huh? Let me see." Kuroka said and crouched in front of her sister's legs along with Ranmaru, their eyes instantly dilated because of what they saw. There, on the underside of Shirone's shoe, a white paper with Kanji writing on it was burning quickly. Kuroka immediately recognized it.

'That's a…!'

"An explosive tag! Run, now!" Ranmaru shouted as he snatched the burning paper from Shirone's shoe and threw it away, and then he immediately started to run away, dragging Kuroka, who was in turn dragging Shirone by her hand.

"Shirone!" Kuroka exclaimed in worry and brought Shirone in front of her, knowing that they wouldn't be able to outrun the explosion.

Before they could make it to a safe distance, the paper tag exploded, throwing both the kids and the nearby bodies quite a distance away.

Shirone finally opened her eyes when she felt herself on the ground, fear was evident in them as she looked up at Kuroka's blemished face, her sister has hugged her from behind to protect her from explosion, and they ended up tumbling together for a few meters, Kuroka has never loosened her hold on her for even a second. And now, Kuroka was hunched over her body on her hands and knees, her clothes were torn apart, scrapes and bruises covered her limbs, and there was a large gash on her forehead.

"N-nee-chan…?" Shirone said, her voice trembling. Kuroka just smiled at her softly.

"Are.. Are you alright, Shirone?" She asked with a shaky breath, blood was pouring down from the top of her head, slowly covering the right side of her face. The white-haired child just nodded, crying silently. Her sister, however, just kept on smiling.

"That's g-good. As long as you're fine, that's a-all that m-matters." Unexpectedly, her eyes rolled back and she slumped forward, landing on top of Shirone.

Ranmaru, who just managed to get up with his own share of injuries, gasped in horror from seeing his best friend falling on top of her little sister, who was desperately trying to wake her up.

'No… '

"Kuroka!/Onee-chan!" Ranmaru sprinted to the two sisters and lifted Kuroka's body in his arms, albeit with great difficulty since he already had a weak body, but he managed to do it. He looked down at the sobbing Shirone and said urgently…

"Shirone, she's not dead! Get up! She just lost consciousness, but if we didn't hurry, she might die of blood loss!" Shirone nodded meekly and got up, following after Ranmaru, who was jogging as fast as he could, determined to get Kuroka to the next village as soon as possible.

'Hang in there, Kuroka!'

 **At Night, Haku's Old House….**

"Ok, I understand my part now. Well then, I should take my leave… " Yugao said calmly and walked to the door.

"Wait, you're going to Kiri right now? Aren't you going to stay the night here with us?" Anko asked, Yugao turned around to face her old friend and former teammate, shrugging her shoulders with an uncaring expression.

"I don't see any reason for why I should wait, the sooner than I can get the files we want, the faster we'll leave."

"Alright, you can go." Naruto said with approval, Tayuya silently nodding with him.

The swordswoman smiled and waved goodbye, closing the door behind her, intending to go straight to Kirigakure.

"We should go to bed, I don't know about you, but I was up all night yesterday working in the lab, so I'm very tired. " Karin said with a yawn and started walking up the stairs towards the rooms, the others agreed with her and started to follow behind her.

But, she suddenly stumbled and held onto the wall to support herself, her hand shot up to hold her forehead and her eyebrows knitted together in distress.

"Karin, what's wrong?" Naruto asked with worry in his tone, he walked up to her and helped her straighten herself up, Tayuya and Anko looked at their red-haired friend with worried frowns from their place at the start of the stairs below.

"I feel emotions, my Kenbunshoku Haki…. I activated it to sense if Yugao has already left the village, but suddenly, I felt a whirlwind of emotions coming from somewhere near this village. Anger, fear, disgust, hopelessness, terror, pleasure and many more, it was overwhelming. " Karin said with an apprehensive expression. The others only stared at her with confusion, but Naruto had a thoughtful look on his face.

"But could you sense that far away, I know that you are the best Kenbunshoku user among us right now. But even then, you still haven't reached the point where you can sense emotions from such a distance, have you?" Anko asked pointedly.

"Its not really that far, the village from which I sensed these emotions is very close to this village. " Karin answered her, adjusting her glasses and folding her hands over her chest.

"Could it be the Shinobi of Kiri killing the bloodline users in that village? You said that you sensed fear and pleasure, it is quite possible that those sick fucks are enjoying their time massacring the innocent bloodline bearers." Tayuya said angrily, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Where is this village exactly, Karin? " Naruto asked with a calm tone. Karin glanced at him and pointed with her finger…

"Its to the north of this house."

"Hmm… Based on the emotions that you're sensing right now, how many Shinobis are there?" Naruto asked, to which Karin sighed and leaned her back on the wall.

"There are a lot of them, maybe fifty or sixty." She answered.

"I'm going there. I will not stand idly and let those filthy Shinobis take the lives of innocent people for one fucked up reason or another!" Tayuya announced coldly and started heading for the door.

"I'm going with you, Oni girl." Anko said with a grin and followed after her, looking forward to enjoy her time killing some Kiri Shinobi.

"What about the plan, Tayuya-chan? " Naruto asked calmly, Tayuya turned around and glared at him with anger.

"Who gives a fuck about the plan right now? This is my job as a marine, I know that you want to help these people just as much as I do, so why don't you let me and Anko go and deal with them?" The emperor and admiral stared at each other silently for a few seconds, before Naruto finally smiled and nodded.

"Alright, go. Make sure to kill every last one of them." Tayuya smirked back at him and Anko grinned, killing intent flowing out of her body. The two women walked out of the door, while Karin and Naruto stayed at the entrance.

" **Geppo! (Moonwalk).** " Both women announced as they jumped up and started to literally walk in the air, crossing the sky towards the village, leaving sonic booms after every step, and being so fast that the people below only saw sudden bursts in the air, Tayuya's Geppo being noticeably much faster than Anko's.

"Well, since we're all alone now, let's take a look around the village before you sleep, what do you say, Karin-chan?" Naruto asked casually.

Karin's eyes immediately glazed over and a blush appeared on her cheeks, she quickly got in front of Naruto's face, who leaned back slightly from her invasion of his personal space.

"You mean like a date!? " She asked dreamily, playing with her eyelashes. Naruto sweat dropped and replied….

"Ah, yeah, sure. I like you, so I wouldn't mind going out on a date with you, Karin-chan. Actually, I will be honored." He answered with a smile. Karin let out a little squeal and threw her head back, her face exploding into a full on blush and she put the back of her hand on her forehead.

'He just said that he likes me!' And just like that, the reserved scientist was gone, being replaced by an overly dramatic teenager.

"Hey, Karin! You there!? " Naruto asked loudly, waving his hand in front of her face. Karin finally snapped out of it and returned back to her usual reserved self, nodding and taking his hand in hers, smiling at his surprised expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go. " She said with ' _subtle'_ excitement in her tone, dragging a bewildered Naruto behind her.

 **At The Same Time…..**

"Shinichi! " A black-haired woman screamed as her son was lifted up by his shirt's collar, a Kiri Shinobi was holding a Kunai to the throat of the terrified child, the Shinobi's name was Aburu.

"Let him go, please! Take me in his place, kill me, but please, let my son go!" The woman screamed in tears, two Shinobis were restraining her movement by holding her arms.

"Let him go? Hahaha! As if I would ever do that, you bloodline holders have cursed our country with misfortune since you stepped foot into it. Its only fair for us to pay you back, vile creatures, we have to cleanse this land of your presence." The Shinobi said and started to lift the Kunai towards the boy's neck, intending to cut it open.

"Kaa-san! " The child screamed in utter fear, tears streaming down his face, his mother could only look hopelessly as her child was about to be slayed by these freaks.

"I advise you to do as she says and let the kid go, filth." A voice said suddenly, the Kiri Shinobis bristled in anger and looked at the source of the voice, finding a red-haired girl who wore a red suit and skirt, she was also wearing a white cap which had the word "Marine" written on it.

"Or what? What are you going to do, chick, slap me to death? Although I might not be opposed to that so much, you are pretty hot, I must say." Aburu said smugly, blatantly leering at the cold-faced Tayuya.

" **Shadō Marionetto (Shadow Marionette)….** " The Shinobis heard the ecstatic voice of yet another female.

Suddenly and right in front of their eyes, the shadows of the two Shinobis holding the woman came to life and stood up behind their owners, turning their dark hands into large spikes and impaling them from behind. The two Kiri Shinobi screamed in agony as blood gushed out of their mouths and abdomens, they spasmed for a few seconds before they dropped on the ground motionless, they were dead. And the most horrifying thing about it, is that their shadows were giggling before they vanished, they were betrayed by their own shadows.

A purple-haired woman landed on the ground on the opposite side of Tayuya, trapping the Shinobi between the two of them.

The Shinobi gasped in shock collectively, Aburu dropped the child in his shock, allowing the kid to make a run to his mother's waiting arms.

"Hi, guys! " Anko said, waving casually and grinning at the flabbergasted Shinobi.

"My lady, will you please take your son and leave this place? We don't want you to get caught in the crossfire." Tayuya commanded calmly, the woman nodded tearfully and thanked her before she took her son in her arms and ran away.

"Who the hell are you two? How could you do that!? " Aburu yelled in fury and held his Ninjato like the rest of the Shinobi, preparing to kill the two women who had the gall to ruin their fun.

"That was my boyfriend you killed, bitches!" A Kiri Kunoichi screamed and dashed towards Tayuya with a Kunai along with Aburu, intending to slice her to bits. The marine admiral didn't move an inch from her place, her head lowered and her cap covering her eyes.

'Time to die, whore! ' Aburu thought smugly. However, his sword and the Kunoichi's Kunai went right through Tayuya's body, much to their shock.

'What the fuck!? ' Both of them thought in horror, and before they could take back their weapons, Tayuya's neck and stomach turned into magma, melting their weapons and burning the skin off of their palms with the extreme heat.

The two Kiri Shinobi screamed in agony, bringing their bloodied and burnt hands to their faces, experiencing an imaginable amount of pain. Tayuya's hands shot up and clutched their cheeks, squeezing so tightly to the point where they thought that she will crush their jaws, their weapons still melting away inside her body. The admiral actually took a moment to glance at the crying Kunoichi in her grasp.

"Your boyfriend, huh? And you want me to care, because? You didn't care for that woman who was screaming her heart out for you to let her child go. So, I'm not sorry to say this but…. I don't give a fuck about your boyfriend." She stated coldly, the Kunoichi glared at her with tearful eyes and snarled weakly…..

"F-fuck…. y-you!" Tayuya ignored her and continued talking like she didn't hear anything…

"For threatening the innocent civilians of this village with extermination and torture. I sentence you all…. to death. " As soon as she finished talking, her gloved-hands started to heat up and emit copious amounts of steam, turning into magma, which covered the heads of the two Shinobis she was holding, causing them to scream and thrash around with their hands and legs, trying to pry her off of them. The rest of the Shinobis watched in stunned silence as their comrades were melted to death, and soon enough, their bodies stopped moving and dropped to the ground, their heads were no longer there, being replaced by two slabs of magma, the blood coming out of their severed necks evaporating instantly by the magma, releasing a sickening stench of burned flesh and blood in the air.

"Wow, I'm impressed, Oni girl! You turned them into barbecue, literally! " Anko said with a whistle, grinning in sadistic excitement.

Tayuya stayed silent and walked forward slowly with her head bowed, causing the remaining Shinobis to subconsciously take a couple of steps back, after what they had just witnessed, they now know for sure that these two teenage girls are not anything to scoff at.

"So… " The marine admiral lifted her head to glare at the Shinobis with such anger and hatred that they started to actually sweat and some even trembled in fear, her eyes were blazing with inferno.

"…. Who's next? "

 **To Be Continued….**

 **Author notes:**

 ***Aburu is just a throwaway OC I made, his name actually means "To Roast ", which is ironically what Tayuya literally did to him, could it be a coincidence? Who knows ~.**

 ***Anko's devil ability is Not the same as Moria's ability. I tweaked it a little bit, the only difference between the two is that Anko can telepathically control and take the shadows of others, without needing to put the shadow inside of a dead body, she basically animates the shadows and orders them to do her bidding, she can also control the shape of these shadows (ie. Turning their hands into spikes and the like). This means that in the present time of the story, Thriller Bark doesn't have zombies walking around, but animated shadows who take the shapes of their previous owners, the owners will still evaporate if they stepped into the sun with their shadows. So, Moria needs a dead body to host the shadow, while Anko doesn't need it and controls the shadow itself, the shadows are capable of doing the same attacks of their owners. Other than that, their isn't much difference between Moria's ability and Anko's ability.**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	5. Kirigakure Arc: A World Of Madness

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 5: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits….. Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **Of Mad Warlords, Brutal Admirals And Conflicting Interests!**

 **The First Conflict... A Demon On The Loose!**

"What's the matter?... " Tayuya asked provokingly, not a single emotion in her voice and expression.

"…. I thought Kiri's Shinobi had more of a backbone, why are you trying to run away, pussies? " She asked again as she stopped walking and stared at the Shinobis, whose faces started to harden in both anger and humiliation from her blunt words. One of them was about to retort, but he was cut off by Anko….

"I guess they only show off their muscles on the defenseless civilians. I honestly thought the Shinobi of Kiri were much more stronger than that, I didn't know you were so pathetic. What a shame, your ancestors are probably rolling in their graves right now." Seeing the fury that her words had invoked in them, the newly appointed Shichibukai only giggled with mirth, angering the Shinobi even more.

"We will show you what we can do!" Yelled one of the Shinobis as his companions readied themselves to engage in battle with the mysterious women. Tayuya immediately sent Anko a meaningful look, to which Anko nodded excitedly.

"Then catch us if you can." The red-haired Admiral issued a challenge and disappeared into the nearby forest along with Anko.

"After them! We have to avenge our fallen comrades and prove to them that the proud Shinobi of the Mizukage are not to be messed with! " Ordered one of the Shinobis, the others roared in agreement and sprinted up the tree branches and into the forest.

They found the two teenagers after a while, standing on the ground below. Anko had her arms crossed behind her head whilst smiling maniacally, and Tayuya had her arms folded over her chest and had a hard look on her face. The two Shinobis in the front immediately took out a Kunai each and threw them at the girls, both Kunais had an explosive tag attached to them. The Shichibukai and the Admiral did not move a single inch from their place and simply waited for the explosive weapons.

" **Doppelman: Karasu (Silhouette: Raven)…**.. " Anko whispered just a second before the Kunais exploded in hers and Tayuya's faces.

"How is that for pathetic, huh?! " A Kunoishi shouted mockingly as she and her peers laughed and waited for the smoke to disperse and reveal the mutilated bodies of their enemies.

However, they were soon astounded by what they witnessed when the smoke finally cleared, Tayuya's head and upper-torso were missing, while Anko had a strange silhouette-like being which resembled her greatly, standing in front of her in a protective manner, but it was entirely made of a dark matter and had two sets of glowing red eyes instead of one.

The Admiral's headless body suddenly started to walk forward seemingly on it's own, rapidly regenerating itself via Magma as it did so, Anko and her demonic shadow-clone stalked behind it side by side, both the Shichibukai and her creepy look-alike were grinning.

"Now that we moved away from the village….. " Tayuya started talking as soon as her head reformed, causing the Shinobi to either gasp or gape in amazement.

"…. We can finally let loose and kill you all, low-life scumbags." She finished her sentence, raising her right arm and turning her fist into Magma, which dripped down on the ground with each step she took, making alarming sizzling noises as it melted the earth.

The Shinobis took a few steps back, some gulping and some gritting their teeth in frustration.

"These two are freaks of nature, they must be bloodline users. Quick, those of you in the back, go back to Kiri and bring reinforcements as fast as possible! We will hold them off until you come back! " One of the Shinobi shouted over his shoulder at the others.

"But, you might die before we get there. Even for bloodline users, they're simply too strong!" Responded a hunter-nin from the back.

"Don't worry about us! Even if we did die, we can at least be assured that you will avenge our-" Suddenly and without any warning, a molten fist was shoved into the Shinobi's stomach, detonating inside his body and filling his insides with smoldering Magma, killing him instantly.

" **Meigō (Hellhound)….. "** Tayuya said quietly, standing in front of him with her fist lodged inside his torso. The rest of the Shinobis gasped when they finally realized what was happening, they didn't even see her move and she was suddenly in front of their comrade, killing him in cold blood.

"Enough talking. " She commanded coldly while ripping her arm out of his body, letting him fall lifelessly at her feet.

The Shinobis in the back wasted no time and immediately took off towards Kiri, while the rest hardened their resolve and prepared to fight the two women.

"Anko, after them." Tayuya said and nodded her head towards the fleeing group.

"Roger that! " Anko replied ecstatically with a mock salute, she and her shadow immediately vanished afterwards, hot on the group's trail.

The remaining 30 Shinobis split into three groups of ten, two groups stationed on either side of Tayuya, while the third group hid in the trees to wait for the perfect moment to strike her in a blind spot while she's distracted.

" **Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique) / Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**." The two groups shouted collectively, one group spewing multiple torrents of water, while the other fired multiple fireballs at the Admiral.

'Impressive teamwork, but its not good enough.' Tayuya thought to herself, silently complimenting the Shinobi before she raised her hands, each palm facing one group.

" **Tsuin Maguma Nami (Twin Magma Waves).** " Two gigantic tsunami-like waves of magma formed out of her open palms, towering over the group's respective attacks. The wave to the left vaporized the water torrents in an instant, while the wave to the right dissipated and swallowed the fireballs into itself, the poor Shinobis were too shocked to react and were immediately immersed with the magma, dying instantly, their tormented cries was the last thing that came out of their mouths as they were dissolving in the sea of molten rocks. The magma waves did not stop and continued their journey into the trees nearby, turning the areas on either side of the Admiral into a glowing and flaming, literal _hell_.

"That's it! " A voice suddenly shouted, causing Tayuya to raise her head and look at the lone Hunter-nin standing a fair distance away from her with an uninterested stare.

'That's right. If I can gain her attention long enough until the others leave the trees which are melting at the moment and formulate a plan to take her down, then we can actually have a chance of defeating this monster. But I have to be quick about it, it feels like my skin is being peeled off of my body from the heat. It is my job as their leader! ' The Hunter-nin thought to himself and steeled his nerves, her blank stare wasn't helping him to keep his cool at all, she looked ready to murder him if he so much as look at her wrong. He put on a brave face and started talking….

"This ends here, bitch! You don't seem to know just who I am! I'm renowned as the strongest Hunter-nin in Kiri, and the leader of this squad! My name is - "

" **Oni no ikari (Ogre Wrath)…** "

He stopped talking when a large surge of magma which took the shape of a terrifying horned Oni's head came flying towards him, its jaw wide open and ready to devour him whole.

The Hunter-nin only had time to scream before the magma entity closed it's jaw on his person, leaving a smoking pile of molten rocks on the ground with no signs of the Shinobi, his body was melted into liquid in a manner of seconds.

"Shut the fuck up….. " Tayuya murmured quietly with just a hint of annoyance in her tone, she retracted her outstretched magma arm and using her Kenbunshoku Haki, she faced the other side where she could feel the rest of his group hiding, walking slowly in their direction.

"… It doesn't matter what your fucking name is." As she was walking, the soles of her shoes were constantly generating and pumping magma into the ground and inside the earth, which was rapidly traveling underneath the forest, secretly creating a **Magma Chamber** beneath the surface of the earth under the trees that the remaining Shinobi were hiding in.

"Alright then, if you won't come out to fight me face to face, then I will force you to." The red-haired Admiral said monotonously and crouched down, putting her palm on the ground.

'What does she mean? Wait, what's she doing right now? ' Was the thoughts of the blissfully unaware Shinobis. Tayuya just smirked a little smirk which was hidden by her cap, and whispered…..

" **Jigoku no megami: Tishifon Denshō (Infernal Goddess: Tisiphone Lore)."** The Shinobis blinked as nothing happened for a few seconds, but all of a sudden, the ground in the middle of the trees started to glow red, magma busted out from underneath the earth and formed two circular pools in the shape of _eyes,_ while a larger pool formed below them in the shape of a _mouth_ , large hands made of magma shot up from below the trees and quickly caught the screaming Shinobis one by one, incinerating them and throwing them inside the mouth-shaped hole in the ground below, feeding them to the pit of magma.

'Welcome to the infernal regions…. Kiri Shinobi.' Tayuya thought snidely. She was about to walk away from the horrifying and hair-raising scene, but she stopped when she heard the sound of agonized moaning, turning around, she spotted a lone Kunoishi who appeared to have jumped away and survived the magma arm which tried to catch her. She was leaning on an unharmed tree a distance away from the magma pools, and was holding her tantō tightly in her right hand, but her legs were badly injured, her skin was completely melted off and her bones were out in the open.

"Hmm…. What do we have here? " Tayuya asked passively and walked up to the fallen woman, who widened her eyes in sheer terror and tried to crawl backwards and away from her, her whole body was shaking with fear.

"Please, let me live! I will do anything, just please show some mercy! " The woman begged with tears running down her face. The Admirals simply grunted and lifted her foot up and above the woman's head.

"Weren't you willing to watch that woman experience true pain and agony by forcing her to watch you and your fellow scumbags kill her child right in front of her face? How many bloodline users have you killed unjustly? How many families have you destroyed? I'm sorry, but I don't have any mercy or compassion for criminals, especially Shinobis. I showed you what hell is like, but now….. " Tayuya's foot turned into magma, causing the Kunoishi to scream in despair and try to stab her with her tantō, but to avail as the weapon completely fazed through the Admiral. Tayuya simply stared down at her with a blank and unfazed stare, and continued talking…..

"I will see you….. In the real hell." She brought down her foot just as she finished speaking, stomping and smoldering the woman's head with magma, killing her in a painless, fast and ironically merciful way.

The ruthless Admiral of Uzushiogakure's navy walked over to a nearby tree, leaning her back against it's trunk and folding her hands over her chest.

"Humph! It didn't take as long as I imagined, such pathetic weaklings. What a waste of time." Tayuya grumbled under her breath and decided to wait there for Anko to come back, she smirked and adjusted her beloved cap, closing her eyes and thinking to herself…..

'Don't take too long, you psychotic bitch.'

 **Meanwhile, Another Part Of The Forest…**

"Tell me….. Do you fear the dark? " Anko asked with a sadistic grin, pinning a Kiri Shinobi to a tree by her left elbow, while holding a pitch-black, curved dagger which was made of a part of her own shadow against his neck, drawing a thin stream of fresh blood.

Her show-clone, **Raven** _/_ **Karasu** _,_ came to stand by her side and stare at the frightened Shinobi with it's unnerving four red eyes, it seemed to be grinning like it's master as it shaped it's hand into a similar dagger and stuck it inside the Shinobi's mouth. The poor Shinobi was too terrified to utter a single word, opting to stare at his tormentors with eyes full of fear, causing both the Shichibukai and her shadow to laugh and ask at the same time, although Karasu's voice was intermittent and more deep than her master…

"Tell us/ **Tell us** ….. Hehehe/ **hehehe** …" The Shinobi quivered when he felt the daggers start to slowly cut his mouth and neck open, small tears gathered in his eyes as the purple-haired sadist and her shadow continued their torturing questions…

"Do you fear death? Hehehe!"

" **D** **o you fear….. madness?** **Hahaha!** "

"Cat got your tongue or something?" Anko asked whilst smiling widely, the Shinobi just stared at her silently, his eyes begging her to have some mercy and spare him. The Shichibukai cocked her head to the side, staring back at him curiously, and then asking with a fake childish tone…..

"Hmmmm? Why so scared, Shinobi-san?" She slowly lifted the dagger and forced it inside the other side of his mouth. Then, she whispered in his ear…..

"Why so serious?"

"Please….. Please…" The Shinobi murmured with difficulty since he had a dagger in either of his mouth, tears now freely flowing from his eyes. Anko and Karasu looked at each other for a moment and shared a grin, turning their heads to regard him with maniacal smiles.

"Hehehe/ **Hehehe**... Lets put a smile on that face/ **Lets put a smile on that face**." They said at the same time, causing the Shinobi's eyes to widen in fear, he screamed a bone-chilling scream of terror, just moments before the daggers sliced through his mouth and cheeks, killing him instantly. Anko and her shadow stepped back to let his corpse fall on the ground, his mouth leaking copious amounts of blood.

"You bitch!" Shouted a Hunter-nin who came from atop the tree behind Anko, who only raised her index finger without even turning around to face him.

" **Kuroinu shutsugen (Black Dog Apparition)**." Suddenly, the man's shadow busted out from the ground below him in the shape of a large growling black hound with red eyes. The dark being viciously tackled the Shinobi in mid-air and gnawed at his legs, bringing him crashing down to the ground.

"How cute, you wanted to take revenge for your friend." Anko said, crouching in front of him and lifting his jaw to meet her amused gaze. The Shinobi didn't, couldn't reply, as he was too busy screaming from the fact that the shadow dog was still literally eating his legs. Anko just smiled and 'gently' closed his open mouth with her palm, putting her index finger on his lips to stop him from screaming.

"It's okay, Hunter-san. It'll all be over very soon. If you just ran away, if you didn't try to be a hero, you wouldn't have been in so much pain now, would you? " Her only answer was the sound of his muffled screams against her finger, and the sickening sound of his flesh and bones being devoured by the abomination she created out of his own shadow.

The purple-haired Shichibukai then laughed and gripped his cheeks with her right hand, dismissing the dog with her left one, causing the shadow entity to return back to its rightful place beneath the Shinobi's body. She grinned at his agonized expression and stated…

"Look around you, Hunter-san. Feast your eyes on the view. It's quite the spectacle, trust me." The man opened his eyes after blinking a couple of times because of the pain, and stared at the massacre in front of him in shocked silence. The bodies of his comrades were scattered around the area, some had missing limbs, some had their skulls cracked open, and some were hanging limply on the branches of the trees while on their stomachs, their blood coating the trees dark crimson. The ground, the forest, their clothes, everything was stained red. Their traitorous shadows were either standing or sitting on top of their dead owners, laughing at them, the sight was so wrong on so many levels, and it reminded him of the messed up things he used to read about in horror books, but this, he had to remind his traumatized self that this …. This is _real_.

This single woman, who appeared to be fragile and even a bit childish, was able to singlehandedly slaughter an entire battalion of 20 Jōnins and Hunter-nins, all by herself. Kami knows what her ruthless companion is doing to the rest of their force right now.

"Wh-Who are you people? What are you?" The Shinobi asked pathetically, tears of both sorrow and fear ran down his face.

"Me? I'm the empress of shadows. I welcome you to my playground, where you will be driven to your very wits end." Anko replied with a sadistic grin, quite proud of herself. The Shinobi glared at her with loathing and spit out…

"You're just a crazy bitch! Just you wait, demon! Mizukage-sama will know about what you and your friend have done, and when he does, you're dead, you hear me!? You're fucking dead! " Anko just smiled and brought her blood-stained face closer to his, staring him right in the eyes.

"So what if I'm crazy? It's a mad world we live in, Hunter-san. I'm mad, you're mad, _most_ _everyone is mad here_. You may not have noticed, but even you are not all there yourself _._ Hehehehe! It must be hard to see friends and comrades die before your eyes, knowing that if you were just a little bit stronger, you could have saved them, isn't it? " She asked while smiling viciously, sticking her tongue out to lick some of the blood around her upper lip, unintentionally making what would otherwise be considered a seductive gesture.

"And what do you know about camaraderie and trust? How would you know the feeling of having your own shadow betray you!? " The hunter-nin yelled in her face with a broken and hoarse voice. Anko's grin briefly slipped away because of his words, she fell silent for a few seconds, looking like she was contemplating or remembering something, but she soon grinned once again and stood up, hoisting his upper body with her by using her grip on his cheeks, letting his disfigured legs dangle in the air.

"Oh, believe me. I know a lot about betrayal." The Shinobi continued to glare at her and futilely tried to pry her hand off of his face.

"S-Screw y-you, empress of sh-shadows!" He bit out as his last act of defiance, causing the psychopathic woman to throw her head back and laugh out loud….

"Hehehe-hahahaha! You sure are an interesting fellow to talk with! But, I guess all good things must come to an end, ne? " She didn't wait for his response and turned her head around to face her shadow.

"Looks like our fun has to end rather quickly, huh, Karasu? I guess it's time for you to come back." The demonic shadow-clone just grinned and giggled eerily before it returned back to being a normal shadow underneath Anko's feet, the other shadows of the dead Shinobis disappeared as well.

The Shinobi's eyes widened from the implications of her words, he understood what she meant, and the fact that she was now pointing her index finger towards his chest further proves that his time has come. The Shichibukai smiled at him with her eyes closed, giving her a somewhat of a serene expression had it not been for the blood on her face.

"Goodbye, Hunter-san." She said gleefully and then whispered…

" **Shigan** …. "

 **A Few Minutes Later, Tayuya's Location…**

'She's late… ' Tayuya thought with a grumble, playing a relaxing melody with her flute as she waited for her 'bitch of a friend', as she liked to call her. The forest around her was still burning down in Magma, the light of the fire giving her some type of a hellish illumination, making her seem like a daemon standing in the middle of hell.

"Oni girl!" Anko's voice interrupted her playing, causing the Admiral to lift her head, immediately spotting her trotting her way towards her, her clothes and most of her face were covered in blood, blood that's not hers.

"You're done? You didn't let any of them escape you, right? " She asked.

"Of course not. Who do you think you're talking to, huh? I'm one of the best assassins in Cipher Pol. Well, I _was,_ but still, how can you doubt me, Oni girl? I'm hurt." Anko responded with a childish pout, causing Tayuya to sweatdrop a little.

"I was just making sure, I didn't mean to sound like I'm doubting your skills, Anko. Stop overreacting, it appears that Karin has rubbed off on you. And will you stop calling me that? I know that you're doing it just because I'm younger than you, I will have you know that we're only a year apart."

"A year still counts, Oni girl~" Anko replied with an annoying singing voice, causing a tick mark to appear on Tayuya's forehead.

The purple-haired woman then smiled widely and took a look around the area.

"Wow! It seems like you too have had your fun. But, isn't this just a little bit overkill? You could have killed them without using your Magma, you know how destructive that stuff of yours is." Anko said uneasily, Tayuya stared at her blankly and replied in monotone…..

"For what they've been doing to the bloodline users of this country, hell is the only suitable punishment I can think of. That's justice."

"I didn't say they didn't deserve it, I'm just saying that you didn't have to destroy the forest." Anko voiced her rebuttal. Tayuya grunted and folded her arms over her chest, looking pensively at her demented friend.

"What's the reward of evil except evil? If they were so patriotic to the point of murdering and slaughtering a part of their country, their community, for the sake of the greater good of Mizu no Kuni, then what's more fair than destroying the country they love so much? Wouldn't you do that if you stumbled upon that piece of shit, Orochimaru? His so-called hidden village turned out to be a bunch of hideouts, but if, no, _when_ we locate all of his hideouts, wouldn't you yearn to destroy them all, just to watch him suffer from losing all those years of research and fucked up experiments? Before you kill him?" She asked rather bluntly, Anko's expression soured when she mentioned the name of their former caretaker and mentor, and she subconsciously touched the curse mark on the back of her neck.

"I guess that's true… " She whispered quietly with a somber tone that wasn't like her at all. After a few seconds of silence, Anko finally regained her smile and took Tayuya's hand in hers.

"Well, anyways, let us go back to Naruto-kun and brain girl since we're finished here." She said and tugged at Tayuya's hand to lead her back to the village, but she stopped dead in her tracks when Tayuya snatched her hand back.

"What's wrong? " Anko asked and turned around to face the Admiral, who folded her arms over her chest once again and frowned deeply.

"I don't want to go back just yet, you can leave. I will be back later."

"Huh!? But why? " The Shichibukai asked confusedly. Tayuya simply turned her back on her and started to walk in the opposite direction.

"This batch of Shinobi is surely not the only one roaming around this country killing innocents. I might be gone for a couple of days, but I will come back when I make sure that I killed as many of Kiri's Shinobi as possible, nearby villages might also be under attack as we speak. If the revolutionaries are too weak and pathetic to be able to protect the people they're fighting for, then someone else has to enforce justice on this land, absolute justice." Tayuya stated heatedly as she was walking away, steam was coming out of her body and Anko sensed that she was unconsciously releasing little bursts of her Haoshoku Haki.

"Wait! That's good and all, but you can't go all by yourself! And what about the plan of laying low until Yugao-chan gets back!? You'll just throw it all away!?" Anko shouted. Tayuya stopped and looked at her from over her shoulder.

"I'm not a fucking kid, Anko. I can take care of myself, I'm Akaoni, one of Marineford's Admirals and one of the strongest people in Uzushiogakure as a whole. As for the plan, you don't have to worry. No one will be able to recognize me or know of my affiliation with the Empire, you know how I operate….. I don't leave any survivors to tell the tale."

Anko sighed, folding her hands and closing her eyes.

"It's not you who I'm worried about, On-" She suddenly stopped talking, because when she reopened her eyes, Tayuya was already gone. Anko blinked a couple of times before she cursed and turned around, intending to reach Naruto and Karin as fast as possible…..

'Shit! Neither my Soru or Geppo techniques are as fast as Oni girl, she might have already covered a massive distance in these past few seconds! My best course of action is to make sure that Naruto catches up to her and stops her. If she bumped into the revolutionaries by any chance, then there will be a blood bath. I know how her mind works, as long as they're Shinobi, she wouldn't care about their cause all that much. Damn it, Tayuya! You and your damn pride!'

 **Meanwhile, Haku's Village….**

"They have some fine jewelry over there, Naruto-kun, let's go take a look. I want to buy a new pair of earrings." Karin said excitedly, tugging at Naruto's arm and pointing towards a jewelry shop ahead of them. Naruto eyed the shop for a few seconds before he gazed at her giddy expression, glancing at the liquor store behind them and then back at Karin, he did that same gesture one more time before sighing and nodding with a warm smile.

"Ok, I will buy it for you." Karin blushed a little and waved her hand in front of her.

"You don't have to, Naruto-kun. I have enough money to pay for it. "

Naruto just grinned and ran his hand through her long hair, causing her to squeak a little bit.

"It's not that I have to, I want to. But please, after we're done with buying your stuff, can we buy some sake? " The scientist smiled and nodded. The two teenagers walked into the shop and came out a few minutes later, Karin wearing her brand new golden earrings, a glowing smile on her face as she clung to Naruto's arm.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun." She said warmly, looking up at him with gratitude in her eyes. Naruto simply smiled and waved his free hand, silently telling her that it's not such a big deal.

However, before they could chat any longer, they heard voices coming from behind them…..

"Give it up kid. Even if you ran away to the ends of the earth, we would have still found you and these two kittens. " Both Naruto and Karin turned around and spotted a bunch of Kiri Shinobi huddled in front of a wall, there seemed to be children trapped between them and the wall, judging by the tiny feet they could see beneath the Shinobi.

"Let's go, Karin. They're a couple of drunk Shinobis having a fight, it's none of our business." Naruto said calmly and started to turn around, not having noticed the children's presence.

"Wait, Naruto….. " Karin said seriously, causing him to stop and glance down at her with a frown, he knew that she was serious since she didn't add -kun- to his name like she normally does, and she only drops the affectionate term when she's extremely serious.

Karin activated her Kenbunshoku Haki to sense the individual emotions of the people in that area, and after a few moments, she gasped in both shock and horror. She immediately let go of Naruto's arm and turned her body fully to face the backs of the Shinobis.

"Naruto… " The emperor only frowned deeper and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Karin? You're starting to worry me." Karin didn't respond at first, she started to march towards the Shinobis with a quick pace, and told him over her shoulder with a furious glare and tone of voice that signified the anger she felt from what she found out was really happening…..

"They're not drunk, nor are they fighting among themselves. These disgusting men are intending to kill the children standing before them."

"What? Children? " Naruto asked in confusion, but he finally noticed the children's feet, his eyes went cold and his body became rigged with rage. Tayuya's words from the night before echoed in his head…..

' _This country houses a lot of scumbags, Naruto. People who are no different from wild animals. They're ready to destroy every and all opposition. To get rid of those they consider to be a bad omen like the bloodline users, those sick motherfuckers are willing to kill pregnant women, elderly people, children and even infants. Such disgraces to humanity like them should not be allowed to live, Naruto. Whether you want me to or not, I won't allow them to exist for as long as I'm in this country.'_

With slow and sure steps, he followed Karin towards the oblivious Shinobi.

 **To Be Continued….**

 **Author Explanations:**

 ***Raven is inspired from both Gekko Moriahs technique, Doppleman, and Raven from Teen Titans, her name is translated into Japanese is Karasu. She's the equivalent of Moriahs Doppleman, but she obviously has Anko's shape, and she has the four red eyes of Raven's demon form. And yes, she can talk, unlike Moriahs shadow.**

 ***** **A** **magma chamber** **is a large pool of liquid rock beneath the surface of the Earth. That's actually a real thing, something that exists in the real world, its not fictional, I just made use of it's general concept, that's what I call creativity.**

 ***Tisiphone is an underworld Goddess in Greek Mythology, she's one of the three** **Erinyes or Furies. Otherwise known as the "Infernal Goddesses", who's job is to punish people and take vengeance on them. Tisiphone is the one who punishes the crimes of murder. When you think about the origin of the attacks name, you kind of feel poetic justice in the manner that it was used against Shinobi who killed innocents, punishment by hell, from the Admiral who represents hell, Tayuya.**

 ***The "Black Dog Apparition" technique is inspired from the Black Dog. A name given to an entity found primarily in the folklore of the British Isles. The black dog is essentially a nocturnal apparition, often said to be associated with the Devil or a hellhound. Its appearance was regarded as a portent of death.**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	6. Kirigakure Arc: Through A Genius Eyes

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 6: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits… Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **The Second Conflict… Through The Eyes Of A Genius!**

Ranmaru felt like his heart was about to explode from fright. He didn't think they will catch up to them so quickly, he was tired from running and his entire body ached from exhaustion, his legs were even trembling from carrying Kuroka all the way here, his body was weak and that was more evident than ever right now, he knew that he might collapse at any moment.

'My body can't take it anymore, I feel like I'm about to lose consciousness. Please, someone, anyone, help us!' He thought desperately, although he was putting on a brave front on the outside.

"I will not let you harm them. Even at the cost of my own life, I won't let you lay even a finger on Shirone and Kuroka!" He shouted hoarsely, breathing heavily while beads of sweat shined on his face. Shirone was silently standing behind him and Kuroka, staring fearfully at their would-be killers and desperately clutching his shirt. He was holding Kuroka up by her waist, she was still unconscious, blissfully unaware of what was happening in the real world.

One of her bloody arms was slung over his left shoulder, her head was facing the ground and her eyes were closed, droplets of blood dripped down from her forehead, almost making a puddle on the ground.

The Shinobis were rather taken a back by the boy's boldness. However, they soon began to either chuckle or laugh out loud at his expense. One of them drew a Kunai and pointed it at Ranmaru's unflinching face.

"Is that so? Then, I will give you the honor of being the first one to go… " He said menacingly, thrusting the Kunai with the intention of stabbing Ranmaru's right eye, who only shut his eyes tightly and squeezed Kuroka's waist firmly, refusing to let her go.

A feminine hand suddenly grabbed the Shinobi's arm, stopping the Kunai just a few inches away from Ranmaru's eye. The eyes of the surrounding Shinobis dilated in shock, watching as his arm along with the the Kunai were turned into stone.

"Wh-What the hell!?" The Shinobi exclaimed in horror, turning his head around to see who did that to his arm, finding a beautiful teenage girl who had a strangely styled red hair and cold bespectacled crimson eyes. She simply stared at him, making him feel like she was judging his worth just by her withering look, then she turned her gaze to meet the terrified and shocked stares of the children, taking in their miserable state.

"Men, you never fail to prove that you're the most revolting of creatures." Was the first thing she said, her tone was full of loathing and disgust, fixing her frosty gaze back at him. Then, and faster than anyone could react, she raised her hand and gave him a resounding slap, his head immediately turned into stone and shattered to pieces the second she touched him. The rest of his group watched his body collapse beside the stone debris of what was used to be his head in horrified wonder.

One of them finally snapped out of his shock and made to move towards the Shichibukai. But, she simply pointed her middle finger at him and said coldly…..

" **Manbachēn (Mamba Chain)…. "** A thin sharp-pointed golden chain manifested from behind her back and coiled around her arm like a snake, lunging from above her finger and stabbing the Shinobi's heart with its spear-like tip. The Shinobi spit out blood as he stared at her with wide eyes, the chain then came out of his back, covered in fresh blood, the life slowly left his eyes, and he fell to the ground motionless.

Several other chains sprouted from Karin's back, three of them wrapped themselves around the kid's waists and hoisted them up in the air, above the her and the Shinobi. While the Shinobis were gaping in shock, Karin simply stared at them with what they thought was a bored look, as if she thought they were not worth her time or if they were inferior to her, one hand on her hip while she used the other to push her glasses. The golden chains were coiling around her body, arms and legs, their pointed tips swayed back and forth as if they were snakes prepared to clap on their preys in a moment's notice.

"Karin, I'll handle this. Just take the kids and stay back." Naruto commanded from a distance behind Karin. The red-haired woman simply nodded and turned on her heels, walking away from the Shinobis, the kids still hanging above her head.

"Suit yourself." She said shortly.

Suddenly one of the Shinobis appeared beside Kari, swinging his Ninjatō at her head with a furious cry. However, Karin didn't seem to care, and before the blade reached her neck, Naruto appeared at the Shinobis other side and easily caught the weapon with his left hand, which was frothing.

The Ninjatō started to be covered in ice, and in a matter of seconds, the entire body of the Shinobi was turned into an ice stature, his face frozen in surprise. Naruto kicked the Shinobi's abdomen, causing the ice stature to chatter to pieces, and then he started walking towards the rest of them, who took out their Kunais in preparation.

Meanwhile, Karin continued to walk away, the chains lowered down and brought the children to either side of her, still wrapped in them. She glanced at the purple-haired boy and her lips curved up slightly.

"You don't have to thank me." She said. Ranma stared up at her in confusion with a tired gaze, his eyes were dropping every now and then, and his breathing was labored.

"What?" He croaked, Karin simply put her hand on his head and smiled a little, almost unnoticeable smile.

"You were going to say 'thank you', weren't you?" The boy's eyes widened and he asked with an amazed tone….

"H-How d-did you know that?"

"I have my ways, kiddo. Now don't talk too much, conserve your energy." Karin replied cryptically, causing both Ranmaru and the silent Shirone who overheard their conversation to blink in bewilderment.

"Karin, knock them out. This is about to get messy." Naruto called out to her as the Shinobis neared him. Karin glanced at him from over her shoulder and nodded slightly, turning her gaze to the two kids who were conscious, they're eyes widened in fear, Shirone turned head to gaze at her motionless sister with worry, and Ranmaru immediately asked with a hesitant stutter….

"What d-does he m-mean by that?" Karin simply hummed and ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." She then narrowed her eyes at him, Ranmaru and Shirone gasped simultaneously when they felt a sudden and unknown force being exerted on them by the mysterious woman, their eyes unexpectedly rolled back and their heads dropped in a manner not unlike Kuroka, Karin has used her Haoshoku Haki to render unconscious.

'Hmmm… It took a few extra seconds to knock them out. Could it be possible that they were actually trying to resist my Haki? They sure do have strong wills, those kids are something else.' Karin silently mused to herself, finding herself gaining a new found respect for these kids. They reminded her of the days when she, Tayuya and Kin were on the run from Orochimaru after they escaped his clutches. She mentally shook her head, not wanting to think about it, as it would definitely bring back painful memories.

'That black-haired girl is not in a good condition. If we hope to save her, I should take out these guys quickly.' Naruto thought to himself, preparing to get rid of the Shinobis. He evaded the Kunai thrust of one of them and made a claw shape with his left hand. A bluish spherical barrier appeared around him and the Shinobi.

' **Mesù (Mes)….** ' He thought and thrust his hand forward, striking the Shinobi's chest, causing his heart to expel out of his body, encased in a glass-like cube.

'H-Huh?' The Shinobi thought in confusion, feeling the emptiness in his chest cavity. The barrier Naruto created suddenly disappeared, he pointed his index finger towards the flying heart through the square hole in the Shinobi's chest, a yellow beam fired from the tip of his finger and pierced the organ and the chest another Shinobi who was standing behind it, killing the latter instantly. The heart-missing Shinobi chocked on his own saliva and his face twisted in pain, he took two steps back and held his chest in agony, before he dropped to the ground unceremoniously.

Another Shinobi tried to hit him on the side of his head, but he firmly caught his fist and squeezed it so hard that the Shinobi cried out in pain. He then glared at three other Shinobis who were busy going through hand seals to use some Justus, they gasped and then foamed at the mouth, losing consciousness immediately, falling limply on their backs, one after the other.

In the background, Karin suddenly jumped up to avoid the hands of a Shinobi who tried to catch her legs by hiding in the earth. She then fell back down and stomped on his head viciously, turning it into stone and shattering it instantly. The red-haired Shichibukai simply huffed and continued on walking like she didn't just brutally crush a man's head as if it was a Coconut, just by the strength of her leg.

'Only the men I truly like and/or respect are allowed to touch me, you disgusting pig.' She thought furiously, scrunching up her nose in disgust, unintentionally making a cute expression which contradicted what she was actually thinking.

Naruto glanced at the Shinobi who tried to punch him.

"I hope you wouldn't mind some rejuvenation? " He asked coldly. His hand started to emit electricity, and before the Shinobi could retort, an electrical current coursed through his body, causing him to scream and thrash around while trying to get his hand out of Naruto's grasp. After a few seconds, Naruto finally let go of his hand and started walking towards the last Shinobi, leaving his now unrecognizable scorched corpse to fall to the ground.

"T-Take it easy, man. We didn't do anything to you. K-Killing me wouldn't do you any good, r-right? " The Shinobi stuttered as he stumbled back from the furious emperor, trying to bargain for his life, knowing that the person in front of him is not just an ordinary Shinobi, this was a demon, a monster, at least that's what he thought. He actually tripped on a little rock behind him and fell ungracefully on the ground, his body shaking with terror as the violet-eyed teenager stopped and crouched in front of him, staring at him with cold, emotionless eyes.

"Please.. I beg of you. I-I was just acting on o-orders-" Naruto stopped his pitiful attempt at asking for forgiveness by seizing his neck with his left hand.

"Shhh… Just stop talking." Naruto whispered monotonously. The Shinobi heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that he was spared, but he soon felt Naruto's hold on his neck tighten, causing him to gasp for air and struggle to take his hand off. His body started to decoy and dehydrate at a fast pace, his pained gasps and groans soon came to an end as the moisture in his body was completely sucked off.

Naruto then stood up and walked back to Karin, leaving the dry husk of what was the Shinobi's body behind.

"Naruto! Karin!" They heard Anko's voice coming from the distance, which made raise their heads and spot the Shichibukai making her way towards them from the sky.

"I finally found you guys." Anko said in relief, coming down to land in front of them . But she blinked when saw the numerous bodies surrounding them and the children Karin was holding up by her chains.

"Umm… What happened? Who are these kids, and who did that to them?" She asked, getting angry at the sight of the blood-covered children. Karin grumbled under her breath while Naruto shrugged.

"Just a bunch of small fries who were trying to dispose of those children… " Naruto answered her with a bored tone, nodding towards the unconscious children.

'Poor kids.' Anko thought with genuine sympathy, nodding solemnly in understanding.

"We're not sure if the Shinobis are the ones who did that to them. But, it's safe to assume that they're bloodline users, otherwise they wouldn't have hunted them down." Karin added briefly, shooting a worried glance at the black-haired girl, since she seemed to be the one who had the most injuries.

"Oh! Speaking of which, Naruto, you have to stop Tayuya. She ditched me right after we disposed of the Shinobis in that village, she said that she's going to come back once she murdered every Shinobi in the surrounding area. You have to stop her, she might incur her wrath on the wrong people! " Anko said in panic. Naruto's eyes widened and then narrowed dangerously.

"She did what?" He asked quietly under his breath.

"Why didn't I see this coming? Tayuya's sense of justice is what drives her forward, I should have known that she would get herself involved in this country's business sooner or later." Karin said with a tired sigh, palming her forehead and shaking her head.

"Karin, kill those three unconscious Shinobis and then take the kids back home and treat their injuries. Anko, climb on my back, you're coming with me." Naruto commanded as he turned around and gave Anko his back, both women nodded. Anko jumped on Naruto's back and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his stomach, while he held the backs of her thighs. Neither of them showed any visible reaction to their close physical proximity. Since they knew each other and basically lived together in the same house for years, they didn't feel uncomfortable around each other at all, well, that and the fact that Anko isn't a shy girl by any means, while Naruto's mind is currently occupied by what Tayuya has done.

The purple-haired woman turned her gaze to Karin and playfully stuck her tongue out at her, causing the scientist to grumble and fold her hands over her chest in annoyance, watching the two as they floated in the air and disappeared from her line of sight.

'There goes my date. Not only that, but it seems like Naruto-kun and Tayuya are going to fight, again. What a wonderful day, huh?' Karin thought bitterly as she walked back to the house after killing the three Shinobis, ignoring the fearful stares of the civilians, who kept looking at her and then at the children who were wrapped in chains which came out of her back.

It wasn't something new, really. Everyone who knew them knows that Naruto and Tayuya fought, a lot. They didn't get along all that well. When they first met Naruto, Kin was the only one who genuinely trusted him, while Tayuya and Karin immediately hated him. Tayuya thought that he was another Shinobi scum who had ulterior motives, while Karin thought that he was just a pretty face who took pity on them and would demand they become his slaves or concubines because of it, just like all the men she knew in her previous life working under Orochimru. But soon enough, they warmed up to him and gradually trusted him, he became the first guy Karin liked and trusted, and eventually the first one she gains a romantic interest in, or any interest for that matter, as far as she's concerned. As for Tayuya, she did trust and respect him as the emperor of the country they resided in, but she didn't like him all that much on a personal level, still doesn't, she's an uptight and strict woman, so it was expected that his laid-back attitude would gyrate on her nerves and rub her the wrong way. Naruto is a strategic guy, any diversion from his 'perfectly' laid plans would inevitably piss him off and send his mind into chaos, and Tayuya tends to do that a lot. She firmly believes in justice and would always do what she thinks is the right thing to do, her mind is a one-track mind, and her stubbornness also plays a role in her way of thinking, add all that to the fact that she doesn't fear Naruto, she doesn't fear anyone or anything as far as Karin knows, hell, she speaks about death as if it was a close friend of hers. Karin is absolutely sure that Tayuya wasn't scared of Orochimaru or for her own life as much as she was scared for hers and Kin's, she was noble like that.

But over the years, the two became friends, real friends. Sure, they bickered every time they saw each other like a married couple, but they did come to like each other to a certain extent, they might even see each other in a romantic light now. Tayuya learned to tolerate Naruto's behavior and it doesn't bother her as much right now, she did tolerate Kin before meeting him after all. And Naruto learned that reasoning with Tayuya is the only way to get her to listen, he knows that her intention is not to dent nor hinder his plans and that she's doing what she thinks is best, which it is, but doesn't think about the consequences, she doesn't care about them and he knows that, so the only way to stop her is to give her a good enough reason to stop.

Karin heaved a suffering sigh, not only was her date ruined, but now she has to prepare herself to listen to hours of arguing and bickering between her romantic interest and her best friend.

After a few more minutes of walking, Karin finally reached Haku's house. She immediately went to a room and set the now sleeping kids in beds, Ranmaru in one, while Shirone and Kuroka laid on the other. A green glow encased her hand and she started scanning Kuroka's body.

'A gash on the forehead, a fractured elbow, she seems to have suffered a concussion and her ankle is sprained. Kami, what happened to her? At least her injuries are not something I can't deal with.' She thought with a sigh of relief, starting to heal Kuroka's injuries. She did get some medical training from Tsunade, it was a requirement to learn at least some general first aid skills to get into the Marines or Cipher Pol, and they do teach them during training sessions. While her medical skills are not as good as Tsunade or Shizune, they were at least decent enough to heal the kid's injuries.

After she finished healing Ranmaru, who was the last one of the kids, she smiled warmly and brushed his hair back.

'What a brave child. Tayuya will surely like this one.' She thought with a giggle. And it was true, Tayuya will certainly like the kid, since he would remind her of herself.

When they were on the run with no idea of where they would go, Tayuya took it upon herself to play the roles of the firm leader and the protective older sister, she wasn't the type to express her feelings openly, but when Kin fell from a tree one day, Tayuya did express extreme worry and fear for her well-being. Yes, while Tayuya did act like a heartless and insensitive bitch at times, Karin knew that she had a heart of gold, a heart that cares more about others than it did about herself, and she knows that Tayuya's dedication to her job as a marine is her way of atoning for the her sins, for the evil things Orochimaru forced her to do. Even if it isn't entirely her fault, and even if she was more of a victim herself than anything else, Tayuya still thinks that she's guilty and that she should do all that in her power to bring justice to people and punish anyone who dares to harm innocents. Karin should know, she knew her the longest out of everyone in Uzushiogakure. Yes, Tayuya will definitely like this exceptional kid, because she's exceptional herself.

'Ugh… I can really use some coffee right now.' Karin thought as she suddenly felt the telltale signs of a headache, walking out of the room and going down the stairs, intending to go buy some bandages and get some coffee on her way back home. Being a scientist, coffee is the thing that enables her to function properly, what with spending countless hours and sleepless nights working in her lab.

Kin sometimes jokes about how her and Tayuya are workaholics, and she always told them that they should take it easy and live a little. She can still remember what she said…

' _You two should really go out, have some fun and relax. It's like I'm living alone in this apartment, it doesn't help that you look like zombies in the mornings, too.'_

Karin frowned, well she can't argue with that, neither she nor Tayuya were a morning person like Kin, and they are grumpy when they wake up. But then she thought to herself….

'Am I and Tayuya really obsessed with our jobs?'. They didn't have any friends outside of work, and even those are only colleagues, they didn't talk about anything not work-related with them, whether if it was in the lab or in Marineford. And they do come back late to their joint apartment in Uzushio, both of them would be too tired and cranky to even engage in a conversation, managing to only grunt a greeting before immediately going to sleep. Kin on the other hand would come back late too, but she would come back from an outing with one her friends, often Pakura, or she would come back from a party, happily drunk, her job isn't as hard as theirs, that's why she refused to become an Admiral, even if she is strong enough to become one, she just said that she wanted to be free. That's what Kin is all about honestly, she was a free spirit through and through.

'Oh my Kami, I really am a workaholic! Kin was right, I don't have any social life at all!' Karin gasped as the realization dawned on her. 'But, wait a minute…. '

 ** _Flashback…_**

 _Karin stopped at Naruto's office door when it swung open and Kin came out whistling joyfully to herself. She stopped when she saw her standing in front of her._

 _"_ _Oh, Karin-chan! How was your day so far? " The Chùjù asked cheerfully, grinning at her from ear to ear. Karin immediately felt a sense of dread as soon as she saw the gleam in her eyes, she was scheming something. She just narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion and shrugged carelessly._

 _"_ _Fine." She answered simply. Kin smiled and put her hand on her shoulder._

 _"_ _Naruto-kun wants to ask you something. Promise me that you won't overthink it and say yes, alright? "_

 _"_ _What? " Karin asked with a frown, but Kin has already passed her._

 _"_ _Just trust me and do as I say! See you around, Karin-chan! Hahaha!" Kin said as she walked away, laughing and waving her hand._

 _"_ _Ok, whatever." Karin said with a grunt and walked into Naruto's office._

 ** _Flashback End._**

'She set us up! She asked Naruto to ask us to come along with him to Mizu no Kuni. Kin! You cheeky little devil! ' Karin thought with a growl, imagining her friend laughing her ass off at this very moment, but the smile on her face made it clear that she was more amused than mad at Kin's stunt, knowing that she just wanted to help.

It amazed her how well Kin knew her, she _knew_ that she will overthink it and specifically asked her to not do it in advance. Since she's a genius, she has this nasty habit of overthinking stuff, which always ended up with her brooding for hours in her lab, thinking about what went wrong with her failed inventions and/or first models and how to fix them, and sometimes she even has panic attacks when the logical conclusions she reaches are not ones she necessarily likes. Tayuya always warned her of thinking too much about things, and Kin always tried to get her mind off her job.

Karin grinned as she opened the door, she should really take their advice and allow herself to relax, and she does consider herself extremely lucky to have them as her sisters in all but blood.

 **Meanwhile, Enies Lobby, Tower Of Justice…..**

A group of eight 9 years old children stood beside each other, waiting for their mentor to arrive. Today is their first day in training to become professional Cipher Pol agents.

A girl with pink hair and green eyes, wearing a simple red dress stood stoically, attempting to wait patiently for the instructor, had it not been for the two pairs of eyes currently trying to drill a hole in the side of her head with their stares. She turned her head to her right side and glared at the two boys who were gazing at her, one with a slight blush on his cheeks, and the other with calculative emotionless eyes.

"The fuck are you looking at? " She snapped, causing one of them to yelp and immediately duck his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." He said hastily, the girl simply grunted and replied.

"You did."

"Well, I'm sorry for that." He grinned bashfully and offered her his hand.

"My name is Menma, it's nice to meet you….. " He trailed off. She silently stated at him for a few moments, making him very uncomfortable, now he understood how she felt when he was doing the same thing just minutes ago. She finally relented and shook his hand firmly.

"Sakura, my name is Sakura. Sorry for snapping at you like that, but I'm known to have a short temper and you were testing it with your staring." She replied with an apologetic tone, although her face remained stoic. The boy named Menma only smiled at her.

"Sakura, huh? It fits you well." He complimented with a shy smile. He had tousled shoulder-length, blond hair and grey eyes. He wore a lavender long-sleeved shirt with a green scarf along with dark pants and shoes. In his free hand he carried a musical instrument named an **Ocarina**.

"Drop the act, would you? " She suddenly asked with an annoyed tone. Menma cocked his to the side and stared at her with confusion in his grey eyes.

"What do you mean?" He asked. She simply stared at him with a cold gaze and said monotonously…..

"I can see right threw you, _Menma… "_ She started, stressing out his name. "You're much stronger than you look, you can't expect me to be fooled so easily. Stop acting meek and stop presenting yourself as a spineless wuss, if you are, then you wouldn't be here in the first place. Show yourself, I can see you."

Menma's eyes widened slightly, and then his expression slowly changed, his eyes became more intense and a small smirk made its way to his face.

"So, you do see me. Guess I have to work more on my acting skills if I want to be an accomplished agent of this institution, huh?" He asked with a humorless chuckle, his voice no longer timid and shy, but deep and cold. Sakura smirked at him and let go of his hand.

"That you should. Although your hairstyle is eerily similar to that of **Okashida (Boss)**."

"Who?" He was genuinely confused this time around. Sakura just shrugged.

"The woman who trained and basically raised me, Tayuya-sama. Your hairstyle looks just like hers, I just thought that it was interesting."

"You mean _the_ Tayuya, the Taishō, Akaoni? She trained you… you were trained by an Admiral? " He asked with wide eyes, no wonder she saw through his act so easily.

"Yes, I was." She answered curtly. Then she turned her gaze to the other boy who was standing beside Menma and went to stand in front of him.

"And you are? You were staring at me too, weren't you?" She asked him pointedly. He had straight shoulder-length, dull blueish-grey hair in an asymmetrical style with a single lock of hair falling into his face, and brown-coloured eyes. He wears sandals and the standard monk uniform with a long right sleeve, and his right was bandaged.

The boy simply stared down at her silently since he was a little bit taller than her. Then he unexpectedly smiled a small smile and stuck out his hand, but Sakura could feel the bloodlust behind his seemingly harmless smile, she smirked and shook his hand firmly.

"I'm Sora, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san." He said politely and smoothly, but Sakura wasn't entirely sure if he actually meant it.

"You're strong, Sora-san." She replied with a grin of her own, her own bloodlust oozing out of her body, causing the rest of the kids to stop chatting and stare at the three of them, they felt the bloodlust which was coming out of the trio in massive waves.

"How did you know? " He asked, but it took him a few seconds to figure it out by himself. "You have Haki, don't you?" He asked, or rather stated with narrowed eyes and she simply nodded in confirmation.

"I can't wait to see how strong you really are. So I can crush you with my bare hands, Sora-kun." She said, her grin becoming more and more maniacal, and her bloodlust intensified. Sora did not back down and smiled at her, a challenging and vicious smile.

"The feeling is mutual, Sakura-san." She simply continued smiling and the two had a stare down while squeezing each other's hands tightly. Menma, who was silently watching the exchange, grinned and his fingers twitched towards his Ocarina.

Fortunately and before things got really ugly really fast, the door was swung open and a woman holding a notebook strode inside the hall to stand in front of the children.

She was a fair skinned, slender young woman with brown eyes and straight, dull green hair. She wore the standard uniform made for the female agents of Cipher Pol, which consisted of a long-sleeved short black dress over a fishnet shirt and stockings along with black gloves and high-heels.

'Hmm… she's very, _very_ strong indeed. ' Sakura thought to herself as she stared at the woman, licking her lips whilst smiling menacingly.

"Alright kids…. " She started calmly with an emotionless voice, her face was stoic and devoid of any emotion as she regarded the children one by one with a calculative stare.

"I will be your instructor for the day. My job is to notify you of your upcoming training programs and to take some important information from and about you. I'm the **Naga (Chief)** of **CP7** …. "

"…. And my name is Hanare." She introduced herself monotonously.

 **To Be** **Continued…**

 **Author Explanations:**

 ***Both Menma and Hanare are filler characters which appeared in the anime. Meaning that this is not the Menma in the movie, just to avoid confusion. Search them up to get a visual image of what they look like if you want.**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


	7. Kirigakure Arc:Cipher Pol, A Darker Grey

**Origins Of Legends: Rise Of A Predominant Empire**

 **Kirigakure Story Arc:**

 **Chapter 7: Origins Of Yin-Yangs, Demons And Evil Spirits… Tragedy Of The Bloody Mist!**

 **The Darker Shade Of Grey…. The Mysterious Agency, Cipher Pol!**

As soon as the CP7 Chief identified herself, excited murmurings broke out between the children.

"Oh my Kami, it's her! It's really her!" Was the excited exclamation of a slender boy who had blue hair and green eyes that were outlined by blue eye-shadow. The symbol of **Takumi no Sato (Village of Artisans)** was tattooed on the back of his left hand.

He wore a tight, purple sleeveless shirt which revealed his abdomen. Around his neck was a white scarf that reached down to his pants. On his arms were purple arm warmers with brown straps that secured them onto his arms. His grey baggy pants were fastened by a thick, brown belt. The lower part of his pants was tucked into his sandals. And lastly, he kept a sword on his back.

"Indeed it's her, Ryūgan. The notorious leader of Chiper Pol's seventh unit, I can't believe we had the chance to meet such a strong woman face to face! No one outside of Chiper Pol and Marineford has ever seen what she looks like. Guys, do you have any idea how lucky we are!?" Added a fairly slender girl who had who had fair skin, dark green hair that had two light yellow striped bangs in the front of her hair, light brown pupil-less eye irises, had light red lipstick on her lips. She too had the Takumi symbol tattooed on the back of her right hand.

She wore a light grey jacket that had a long white furry tuft around her neck, under this was a dark red sleeveless dress that had two dark brown belts wrapped around it one at the top of her waist and the other at the bottom, under that was a light brown sleeveless shirt that had covered her dark red sleeveless dress, a long light grey sleeveless leather glove on her right arm, a long light brown stocking that covered her left arm, which had a single pitch black leather glove covering her right hand, wore light grey calf length high heel stocking sandals and carried two Shortswords in the left side of her jacket.

"Of course we do, Kujaku. Not everyone can claim to have personally met the infamous **Kaze no Aijin (Mistress Of The Breeze)**. It's hard to believe that we, the **Shitenshōnin (Four Celestials)** , now have the right to claim such an honor." Replied a second boy who seemed to be older than both Ryūgan and Kujaku. He had a slim face with a prominent jawline with a visible black line around the lower area of his eyes and brown hair that was swept to the back.

He also sported a purple jacket and had a long black sword strapped to his back. And like the other two, he had the tattoo of Takumi no Sato on the back of his right hand.

"It does feel kinda surreal, Hōki. Not only do we get the opportunity to become members of Chiper Pol, but the first person we meet is one of its strongest agents. The fastest user of the Soru technique, and the owner of the **Giro Noryoku (Glare Ability)** , a member of the renowned **Jōmae Village (Lock Village)** in **Kagi no Kuni (Land Of Keys)** , a Village which is best known for its people's excellence in espionage, the Naga of Chiper Pol unit number 7, Hanare-sama. It is said that she can move faster than the blink of an eye, and cross hundreds of miles in mere seconds. To think that we're going to be trained by a living legend like her, it all feels like it's too good to be true sometimes, if I have to be honest with you." A large boy who's eyes had small black pupils, and had wavy brown hair replied calmly.

He wore a purple coat over which he wore his armour which was designed with a silver tiger-like head breastplate and a pair of dark blue pauldrons. He carried a mace in his left hand, there was a tattoo of the Takumi Village's symbol on the back of his left hand.

"But _it_ _is_ _true_ , Suiko. We made it, my friends, we made it to Cipher Pol! We will meet all the legends, all of our idols, and one day we will be just as strong and as famous as they are!" Hōki responded with great enthusiasm, his eyes sparkling with pride and joy. His friends glanced at each other and smiled at him, nodding their heads in agreement and sharing their own excitement.

'So….' Sakura started thinking after she managed to clam down her bloodlust.

'…. This is the power of a Cipher Pol Chief. Hanare, the first person to reach the next level of the Soru technique. **Soru: Neru (Shave: Waft)**. The technique which she herself invented and mastered, the technique that allows movement at no less than the speed of Sound itself, nearly as fast as Kin-sama's speed whenever she uses her **Oto Noryoku (Sound Ability)**. Granted that she's not stronger than Tayuya-sama, but her strength is terrifying nonetheless, my Kenbunshoku Haki has gone haywire since the moment she stepped into the hall, I haven't sensed such an overwhelming power ever since I met Naruto-sama and the other two Admirals. If I remember correctly, Tayuya-sama said that in the Marines, everyone who has the rank of Vice-admiral or higher is capable of performing the technique, and the other Chiefs like Mabui-sama and Tenten-sama are also capable of doing it. To think that this woman is the one who came up with it, and the one who holds the record of the fastest Soru ever recorded, to think that she's faster than Tayuya-sama, who can easily travel Uzushio's island in its entirety in under forty seconds flat, it's mind boggling. But, I'm loving it! If this is how powerful a Chief is, then how powerful is Tsume-sama? I want to be at that same level of strength one day, my dream is to become a Commander of Chiper Pol, and I will be dammed if I let Mito beat me and realize her dream of becoming a Yonku before I realized mine! 'She grinned to herself, feeling the same feelings of awe and excitement as the rest of the newbies.

The commotion stopped immediately when Hanare cleared her throat loudly.

"Before we start-" The door flung open suddenly, interrupting her mid-sentence.

"Wait! " Yelled a 9 year old girl, who had white skin, long blonde hair and reddish-coloured eyes. She wore a turquoise knights uniform with a spike jutting out the top of each shoulder guard.

Two other girls stumbled behind her, skidding to a stop and nearly colliding with her back. The first one quickly composed herself and bowed in front of Hanare with as much dignity as she has left.

"Sorry for being late, Naga-sama. We kind of got lost in the tower, please forgive us! " She said sincerely. She had white skin, blonde frilled hair and light-violet coloured eyes, and she wore an armor. Her breastplate, plate legs, and boots were purple.

Her companions quickly bowed on either side of her. She glanced at the first girl who had entered the hall and hissed….

"This is all your fault, Kamira."

"Hey, don't blame this on me, Ranke. Didn't you agree to take a tour around the tower with me? I didn't force you or anything. " The girl named Kamira hissed back with a glare of her own.

"We're all at fault here, so just give it a rest and be quiet, you two." The third girl on left admonished them with a hushed tone, anger clouding her face. She had white skin, long light brown hair and violet-coloured eyes. She wore a blue knights uniform with a purple-coloured shirt underneath it. She also has some pink markings on her armour.

Her friends turned their glares at her and hissed at the same time….

"You stay out of this, Fugai!"

"You know that I can perfectly hear you from right here, right? " The cold voice of their would be superior - if they're lucky enough- instantly put an end to their little verbal spat, they clamed their mouths shut and waited anxiously for their punishment or even their dismissal. However, and much to their relief, Hanare just sighed and shook her head.

"It's alright. According to the files I have read, you three should be the **San Kishi (Three Knights)** of **Naito no Kuni (Land Of Nights)** , if I'm not mistaken? " The three girls straightened themselves and Renka nodded at her question.

"Yes, that is correct, Naga-sama. However, our group used to be called the **Yon Kishi (Four Knights),** but we sort of got separated when Temujin-kun enlisted in the Marines." She answered professionally. Hanare nodded and gestured with her hand.

"Ok then, you should go and stand in the line with the rest of your peers. " They nodded quickly and eagerly walked to stand with the rest of the children.

"But, try to make sure that you won't be late again. Being late for meetings and the like either means that you're not taking this seriously or that you don't respect your superiors enough. And I'm saying this to all of you, this is not a game, not an academy of some kind or a kindergarten, this is a governmental institution, respecting the rules and the time is very crucial. The next time any of you arrives late without having a convincing excuse, they will be punished for disrespect and insubordination, _severely_." She said tersely, receiving firm nods of acknowledgment, the three girls even had the decency to look ashamed.

"Good. Now, the papers in this notebook in my hand are your recruitment papers. " She raised the notebook for them and held out her hand when Sakura stepped forward. "However, before you sign these papers, I have to warn you of what you're getting yourselves into… " They stared at her with confusion in their eyes and she lowered the notebook and gazed at each and every one of them with a hard stare.

"Cipher Pol is an amoral, obscured and dangerous intelligence agency that works for the government of Uzushiogakure. If you sign these papers, you will be pledging your entire life to us. You will live as liars, cheaters, backstabbers, traitors and cold-blooded murderers, such are the missions of Cipher Pol. If the Marines are the cure, then you will be the prevention, and as always, prevention is always better than the cure. The Marines attack based on actions, but we attack based on intentions, nipping it in the bud and putting out the spark before it becomes a raging fire. They protect the civilians, we protect the Empire, your jobs will circle around spying on and assassinating any politicians who ever express the intention of causing harm to Uzushiogakure, regardless of whether they were Kages or Daimyōs. You will be working as undercover agents, double agents, triple agents, assassins, moles, sleeper agents and so on and so forth. No one will know who you are, no one will know what you did or will do, even the civilians of the Empire do not know the identities of our agents, they only know our names and our reputations, and even then we have them under the notion that our names are only aliases. The only ones who will know of your services are the Kōtei, the Marines and the staff of Impel Down. If you sign these papers, you will have to abandon all your dreams of gaining fame and glory, those are for the Marines to have, they're the light of Uzushiogakure and we're its shadow, as consequences for the things that you will commit on our orders, you will be nothing but unsung heroes or fallen angels, cursed by friends and foes alike." Hanare finished her long speech and fixed her eyes on the children, reading their body language and analyzing their expressions, none of them seemed shaken or seemed to have second thoughts, if anything, they looked even more eager and determined.

"So, now knowing all of that, let me ask you one last time. Do you still want to sign these papers and become agents of Cipher Pol? " To her slight surprise, they all nodded with determination and said at the exact same time….

"Yes, Hanare-sama!"

"Then sign at your own responsibility." The Chief of CP7 replied and even cracked a small smile.

'Huh?' Was the dominant thought in the minds of the children, taking notice that the notebook in her hand didn't have any papers anymore. They looked down and gasped in shock collectively when they realized that the papers were already in their hands.

"B-But when!? How!? What!? " Hōki fired his questions rapidly, his hands shaking and his eyes going back and forth between staring at the paper in his hands and then at Hanare with disbelief. The poor guy looked like he's seconds away from having a seizure.

'Holy shit, she's fast! Faster than Tayuya-sama, and Tayuya-sama is fucking fast! It's like she stopped the goddamn time or something, she doesn't seem like she moved an inch from her place and I was looking at her the whole time! So this is what it's like to master one of the **Rokushiki (Six Powers)** , this is what it means to be one of the Empire's elites! And I thought Tayuya-sama's training was brutal, she was going goddamn easy on me if she's more powerful than this!' Sakura honestly didn't know if she should be amazed or terrified, if Hanare was her enemy, she would have been dead before she even caught a glimpse of who or what hit her.

Hanare resisted a sigh of irritation that was threatening to get out when she saw that they didn't sign the papers and were _still_ gaping at her like fishes out of water.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Sign them and give them back to me so I can get them registered later." The kids finally snapped out of their trance and quickly signed the recruitment papers, handing them back to her. However, she noticed that the members of the Four Celestials looked like they had stars in their eyes when they gave her their papers, and she arched an eyebrow at that but didn't comment on it.

"I welcome you to Cipher Pol, upstarts. " She said with a small smile when all the papers were back in her notebook. The kids either smiled back, grinned or smirked at her.

"Before we get to your training programs, there are three principles you should know before becoming official agents, these principles are likewise important for your success and advancement in the ranks, if you want to get promoted someday." She sated seriously, causing them to become serious as well and give her their full attention. She then raised her index finger.

"The first principle is the rules. As I said before, this is a governmental institution, as of right now, you are no longer normal citizens, nor are you students, you're soldiers, and that comes with responsibilities. The rules are not meant to be broken, discipline is required, they will be no tolerance for breaking the rules or showing any form of insubordination or disrespect to your superiors. If you were called in at 9am, you should be here at exactly 9am. You can bend the rules if it helps you to complete the mission or if it benefits the Empire, and only then are you allowed to bend them. These rules, regulations and procedures are there for a reason, remember that you will be in enemy territories, therefore precision, sharp-wit, care and subtlety are a must. Any small mistake and a disaster might happen, you might end up being the cause of a war. So in light of that, I ask you to respect the rules and try to follow them to the best of your abilities." The kids nodded in understanding with serious expressions, showing that they understood the importance of her words, and allowing her to raise a second finger.

"The second principle is emotions. In our line of work, emotions are a hindrance." She made it a point to look straight at Menma when she said that, and he knew right away that she used her Haki to sense his faint attraction to Sakura. His eyes dimmed with disappointment and a little sadness, but he still nodded resolutely. However, he was both shocked and pleased by what she said next…..

"Emotions and feelings will complicate your missions and bring unnecessary drama into your lives. Do not get emotionally attached to anyone in whatever place your mission is taking place in, attachment means hesitance in carrying out your orders, and hesitance will lead to either the failure of the mission or to your own death, and we cannot accept nor afford either of those two. You will be trained to reign in your emotions and control your feelings. While on missions, you should be unable to feel anything, unable to sympathize with anyone, you should be hollow, the only thing on your mind should be the success of the mission. Remember, _a spy doesn't trust anyone, but their main objective is to make everyone trust them._ But rest assured, we will not get rid of your ability to feel completely, you're allowed to freely express your feelings and emotions whenever you're not working, there will also be trips and picnics and other sociable activities every now and then to keep a heart in you. But, from the reports of your viciousness and cruelty before you came here, none of you seems to have that much of heart anyways." She said with a raised eyebrow.

The kids either smiled bashfully or smirked when she said that last bit, causing her to sweatdrop.

'They actually took it as a compliment, really? These kids are rotten to the core, but that's exactly what we need.' She smiled at them and directed her eyes to gaze at the now content Menma once again, and he could have sworn that her eyes twinkled for a moment there. She raised a third finger.

"The third and final principle is teamwork. Now, teamwork is not as important to us as it is to the Marines, you're not even required to like each other. Most of the missions are solo missions. However, if you happen to be in the same mission or in the same country, what's required of you is to put your personal feelings regarding each other aside and corporate to ensure the success of the mission, results are all we care about in the end. You will follow the instructions I just gave you and engrave these three principles in your hearts, am I clear!?" She asked with a booming voice.

"Hai, Hanare-sama!" They bellowed in response.

"Good, and by the way, you can just call me 'Hanare-san' or just 'Hanare' if you want to. " The kids started for a moment before responding…

"Hai, Hanare-san!"

"Great, now I will ask you some questions and I need you to verify the information I have about you. Correct me if I said something that's not true, ok? " When they nodded, she continued…..

"You four are the group called the Four Celestials, hailing from Takumi no Sato. Hōki, Suiko, Kujaku and Ryūgan, right ? " She asked as she pointed at them.

"Yes, Hanare-sama!" They answered with grins, elated that she actually knew their names.

"What are your weapons of choice? You see, most Cipher Pol agents usually carry weapons and are masters in **Bukijutsu (Weapon Techniques)** , but you're not required to have a weapon if you don't want one or if you feel like weapons are not your thing. For example, my weapon of choice are these…. " She reached behind her and pulled out two **Kamas** from their straps on her back.

"They're called **Nisshoku (Eclipses)**. They're made of a hard steel and their blades are coated with another metal, a _toxic_ metal called **Cadmium.** What are your weapons of choice, if you have any?"

"Well, my weapon is the **Hinoken (Fire Sword)**. While it's not as powerful or as prestigious as the **Meitō (Excellent** **Swords)** that our Village has created, such as Yugao-sama's **Yuro (Night)** or Naruto-sama's **Shodai Kitetsu (First Kitetsu/Demon Splitter)** , it does have its own unique abilities. It can emit and freely manipulate vast amounts of fire, can incinerate whatever is in its path. But, it all depends on my Chakra, so it can only do that for as long as I have enough Chakra. " Hōki said, proudly showing off his black sword.

"My weapon is **Gariantō (The Garian Sword)**. It has the ability to react to my chakra, amplifying it, changing its form to that of a dragon and manipulating it freely. " Ryūgan said next, brandishing his sword. Gariantō is a three-pronged sword with a metal wire passing through the blade. Its wire controls its movements as the blade can expand and be shot after the targeted enemy.

"And these are my babies, the **Fujaku Hishō Shōken (Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords)**. They're capable of responding to attacks and allowing me to transform wind freely. They will also boost my attack power to the highest limit. These swords' greatest advantages are harnessing the user's chakra and performing high-level wind techniques with a minimal cost of chakra, effectively, letting a **Fūton (Wind Release)** specialist like me fight for extended periods of time unhindered. I can also create whirlwinds using them to carry me in midair, allowing me to achieve a form of flight." It was Kujaku who unsheathed her Shortswords next.

'Interesting, her swords are basically the same as Ameyuri Ringo's Kiba blades, but with wind instead of lightning.' Hanare thought to herself, these kids has some unique weapons, but she didn't expect less from the Village of Artisans.

"I have my mace and the **Mugen Kōgai (Infinite Armour)**. It has the ability to take almost all the damage in a fall and draw out and, at an alarming rate, absorb the chakra of anyone or anything that comes into contact with it. The chakra drained can then be used to revitalise injuries and replenish chakra, the mace works as a conduit to drain chakra through. However, The Infinite Armour cannot drain chakra faster than a piercing projectile can penetrate the armour itself, meaning if the armour is pierced, then I'm done for. " Suiko said with a calm tone and a straight face, gesturing at his armour.

"A very interesting and unique set of weapons you have there, but high quality and effectiveness are to be expected from the well-known Takumi no Sato. However, your weapons are all chakra-based or chakra-dependent, and that's a major hindrance and weakness. While I can't say that they will be of much help against the fighters of our nation, I can't deny their usefulness against Shinobi. And I'm sure that Tenten-san will be delighted to train you in Bukijutsu and **Bosushoku Haki (Armament Haki)**. She will teach you how to wield and use these weapons with precision, dexterity, power and with perfection, she's the best in Cipher Pol when it comes to weapons, there is no weapon she's not a master at using" Hanare said with a nod, causing Kujaku and Ryūgan to beam from the praise, and Hōki and Suiko to smile. Ryūgan turned around to face his friends and exclaimed energetically….

"Did you freaking hear that!? We will be trained by Tenten-sama! She's been our idol since we were what, five!? This is a dream come true!"

"She wields one of the Meitō, **Nidai Kitetsu (Second Kitetsu/Demon Splitter)**. I heard that she can split a mountain clean in half with a casual slash, she's the third strongest Kenjutsu practitioner in the entire Empire, second only to Yugao-sama and Naruto-sama!" Kujaku actually squealed at the end of her little fangirl speech.

"Rumors say that her Akuma Noryoku is a unique and dangerous ability. She's the only one in the Empire aside from Kōtei-sama who is able to conjure freaking _guns_ out of thin air, Karin-sama is said to be researching her guns to replicate them and invent similar weapons." Hōki is almost drooling at this point.

"It is said that she can shoot down a fly from miles away. Her marksmanship skills are legendary, no one can compete with her when it comes to that, just like no one can compete with Yugao-sama when it comes to swordsmanship." Suiko quietly added his own two ryōs, his shining eyes clearly exposing the excitement he tried to hide at the prospect of meeting their childhood heroine.

'Great, more weapon enthusiasts. ' Hanare thought with a sweatdrop and a resigned sigh.

'Fanboys… ' Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head in exasperation.

"But keep in mind that just because I and the other Chiefs will focus on certain areas in your training, like your Haki or your Rokushiki, it doesn't mean that you should rely only on that ability. We will train you in all areas, but we will just give a little more time to the areas in which you're gifted in or in which you need more help with. Sure, you can master a certain ability or technique, but it doesn't mean that you should neglect training in the other abilities at your disposal. Being a 'jack of all trades' is counterproductive and it will surely waste your potential to grow stronger, since you will be stuck at sub-par level in all areas. You can be an ace of one or two, but you should also push yourself to be at least above-average or even just average at the rest. Doesn't mediocre sound better than amateur? " She joked with a small smile, the kids sniggered and nodded at her words with full agreement. After they calmed down, her eyes turned serious again and she pointed at the girls who came late earlier.

"You three, Renka, Fugai and Kamira, along with Temujin, you all have **Gereru no Ishi (Gelel Stones)** imbedded inside your bodies, correct?" She asked the three girls who nodded.

"Yes, that's correct, Hanare-san. Our weapons are the Gelel stones and they offer us a variety of abilities. We also convinced and encouraged our Village's Kage to join Uzushiogakure, right now therest of the stone's parts, the book of Gelel and the **Geruru no Kōmyaku (The Gelel Vein)** are under strict protection from both our people the Marines. We can't risk another Haido scenario, especially now that the stones are considered to be one of the Empire's **Kodai Heiki (Ancient Weapons ), Poseidon**." Kamira answered with a small grin.

"Since the stones allow you to morph into monsters like **Zoan** ability users, Hana-san will be great for teaching you Bosushoku Haki and Rokushiki techniques to use while in your monster forms. She has the second strongest Bosushoku Haki in the CP9 unit below Tenten-san, I have no doubt that she will be able to help you harness the stone's power." The three almost identical girls smiled and bowed their heads a little in gratitude.

"Menma, you originated from **Ta no Kuni (Land Of Rice Fields)** and migrated here with a group consisting of your friends and the Fūma clan after your best friend Sasame, the heiress of the Fūma clan has convinced you to go with her, her brother and her clan. Is that false? " Hanare asked, Menma shook his head 'no' and answered…..

"No, everything you said is true, Hanare-san. As for my weapon, it's my Ocarina, it gives me the ability to enhance mine or someone else's strength and speed, as well as release genjutsu caused on many victims." He said politely.

"Genjutsu, huh? Well, you overall seem to be better suited for speed. Kurenai-san will train you in Kenbunshoku Haki and in your genjutsu to make it more realistic and harder to break from. I will train you in Rokushiki, specifically Soru."

"Thank you, Hanare-san." The blond-haired boy replied with a grateful smile.

"No need to thank me, young man. But always make sure to remember this….. _Speed is weight._ " She replied with a small smirk. Unbeknownst to Hanare, Sakura frowned at her words and thought to herself….

'Where have I heard that phrase before? ' She was suddenly hit with a memory that made her eyes go wide open.

 ** _Flashback, Six Months Ago….._**

 _"_ _Is that it? That's all you could manage? " Tayuya asked with a raised eyebrow when Sakura literally collapsed in front of her on the picnic rug she was sitting on. She was wearing civilian clothes which consisted of a black tank top and a white pants, since today was actually her day off, but she still wore her marine cap though._

 _Sakura huffed tiredly and made a strangled noise when she finally managed to flip on her back, every muscle and every tendon in her body protested loudly from the tiniest of movement, her knee and elbow joints were creaking like an old door, she wanted to just die and end all right now._

 _"_ _Okashida, I just ran thirty goddamn laps around the entire fucking training ground, wearing 20kg weights around each limp, and then I did eighty push-ups while wearing the fucking weights. What do you mean 'that's it'? I feel like my soul is about to come out of my miserable ass! " Sakura shouted, or tried to shout but it came out like a pathetic wheeze. Tayuya scoffed and stared down at her with a stern gaze._

 _"_ _If you truly want to become stronger, you will cease your whining and continue your training after you have this short break. You have to realize that power does not come without suffering, Sakura. It won't be handed to you on a sliver platter nor will some divine entity suddenly materialize in front of you and hand you power just because. If you want to become stronger, you have to work for it, suffer for it, sacrifice for it, fight for it, do you think that I became this powerful just by setting on my ass getting a fucking tan? Do you think that Tsume-san, the woman who you claim to want her position in the future became such a goddamn freak of nature by sleeping her butt off? Do you understand the meaning behind my words, my young Sakura? " She asked bluntly. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and then grunted, forcing her body to sit up right, even when every single one of her cells moaned in disagreement._

 _"_ _I…. I understand, Okashida." She said with a serious tone, fire of determination burning in her eyes. Tayuya smirked and ruffled her pink hair, not at all bothered the sweat that got stuck on her palm._

 _"_ _That's my girl."_

 _"_ _Easy there on the kid, Tayuya. She's gonna die in your hands like that." Said a bored voice which had an unmistakable undertone of teasing in it._

 _The pink-haired girl and the Admiral looked to their right and saw the other two Admirals making their way to them. They too were wearing casual clothes. Kabuto wore a simple blue jeans and a black and white striped T-shirt. While Haku wore a full-body white Kimono which was decorated with red flowers._

 _"_ _It's none of your damn business, Kabuto. Unlike you, at least she's doing something useful which is train, while you're doing nothing other than wandering and flashing around like a lost puppy, and sleeping on your paperwork instead of getting the motherfucking paperwork done!" Tayuya wasted no time and gave him a refined piece of her infamous verbal-bitch-slap speeches._

 _"_ _Meh, it's our day off today. And like they say, 'today I don't feel like doing anything'. " He answered with a careless shrug._

 _"_ _Everyday is a day off to you, you yellow waste of sperm!"_

 _"_ _You're a real bitch sometimes, you know that? " He drawled out with a twitching eyebrow._

 _"_ _Says the asshole who has a troll face most of the time." She bit back with folded hands._

 _"_ _Guys, there's a kid here. Can you please refrain from using such vulgar profanities in front of her? " Haku asked gently, gesturing at the still panting Sakura with her thumb and trying to be the mediator between her two colleagues and -somewhat- friends, like she always does. Honestly, she's sure that if she wasn't there to calm them down, either Kabuto will end up giving Tayuya a new eye on the forehead, or Tayuya will finally explode and tear Kabuto a new asshole, literally. Tayuya stared at her with blatant disbelief written all over her face._

 _"_ _Are you fucking kidding me, Haku!? This kid your speaking of is intending to join Cipher Pol, and if she did join, profanity will be the last thing you will be worried about. " Haku had the decency to look sheepish._

 _"_ _Hmmm… So that's why she has been training this vigorously lately. I see that you have weights around your limbs, Sakura, is this a speed training?" Sakura nodded tiredly from her place on the rug and wheezed out…._

 _"_ _Speed, endurance, muscle-strength, stamina, everything fucking hurts! " She bemoaned before hurriedly clamping her mouth shut with both hands when Tayuya shot her a smoldering glare._

 _"_ _Oh? Interesting.. Just remember that this torturous training is for your own benefit. Tayuya might be a pain in the ass, but she knows how to whip anyone into shape, trust me, I know. Keep this in your mind Sakura, speed is weight." Kabuto said with a benign smile._

 _"_ _Does that even make any sense? " Haku asked with a confused expression._

 _"_ _Of course it doesn't. Now can you two just beat it and let me continue training her in peace. " Tayuya said with annoyance evident in her tone._

 _"_ _You won't be able to understand it, but I'm sure that Sakura will. See you tomorrow, Tayuya. " Kabuto said with a wave as he and Haku started to walk away._

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah. Just go and keep yourself busy with that mystery girlfriend of yours." Tayuya grumbled back._

 _"_ _Oh, stop being salty about the fact that you still haven't figured out who she is yet. And please stop thinking that I'm keeping her a secret because I don't want her to meet you, I can already see these thoughts floating around inside both yours and Haku's heads. You two are my best friends and are like sisters to me whether you like it or not, and I'm not ashamed of or embarrassed by you. You will meet her very soon, just wait a little more, I'm making it a surprise, so please stop being so upset, both of you."_

 _"_ _We're not upset!" Both Admirals denied vehemently. Kabuto's teasing laugh was the last thing Tayuya and Sakura heard before they were out of sight._

 _"_ _Your break is over, Sakura. Get up and do it all over again. We still have to work on your devil ability and your Haki, this is just a warmup to get your body ready to learn Rokushiki. "_

 _"_ _Kill me now! "_

 _"_ _Stop whining you little shit! "_

 ** _Flashback end._**

'Holy crap! She's Kabuto-san girlfriend! ' Sakura's eyes nearly bulged out of her head at the realization. 'But, as much as I hate to admit it, you hit the jackpot, Kabuto-san. Strength, beauty and elegance, you're such a lucky dog, Kimoru-sama.' She thought with a smile.

Before Hanare could move to the next kid, the door opened and three women dressed in various costume-made styles of Chiper Pol's uniform entered the hall.

"I hope we were not too late, Hanare-san." The first woman said with a soft smile. She had brown eyes and straight brown hair which reached her lower-back, along with some bangs covering her forehead on the front. She wore a long-sleeved short black dress over a fishnet shirt, a black pants along with black gloves and high-heels.

There was a pitch black sword with a red handle decorated by diamonds strapped to her right hip, the sword is one of the Meitō, **Nidai Kitetsu (Second Kitetsu/Demon Splitter)**. A gun was in a holster on her left hip, the gun is a six shot double-action revolver; with gold engraving on it's grip and barrel. On it's frame is a triangular attachment that bears the Roman numeral XIII on both sides. It possess a rapid-fire trigger for quick shooting. The gun's name is **Hadesu (Hades)**.

Furthermore, on the heels of her legs laid two other guns facing the ground, they're blue in color and they each feature a set of gems embedded in the gun itself and as floral imprinted accessories that hang from the grip of the gun, & an engraving on each side of each gun. They're actually two of four guns, and they all share the same name, **Aoi Netsui (Blue Ardor)**.

Hanare smiled at the woman and shook her head.

"You're not late at all….Tenten-san."

 **To Be Continued…..**

 **Phew! Part 11 is done! Sorry for the long wait, shit happened. I originally planned for this chapter to be much, much longer as a celebration of the fact that the story now has 1k+ followers and 900+ favorites, but the amount of new information which would have been dumped would have been too much to follow, and might even cause dizziness, headache and disorientation, trust me, I couldn't remember all of it myself when I read it the first time, so I cut it down. Instead of having my readers go "what? " at the end of a very long chapter, I prefer them to be able to follow the plot because this is a very plot-reliant and plot oriented story.**

 **Author Explanations :**

 ***The "Soru: Waft" technique which Hanare created is basically my own One Piece version of Bleach's Shunppo. Since both techniques have similar principles (kicking the ground and the number of steps), I figured why shouldn't I make a Shunppo version of Soru and make it the more advanced level of Soru. In this sense, when it comes to Soru, Hanare is like the Yoruichi of this story, the fastest user of the technique and nicknamed as "Mistress of the breeze ", as opposed to Yoruichi's "Goddess of the flash" title.**

 ***The Four Celestials are filler characters that appeared in the Anime and originated from the village of artisans.**

 ***Hanare's Glare ability is the same ability of Viola in One Piece. If you don't know what her ability does, just type "giro giro no mi" in Google's search box and it will take you to the One Piece Wiki, it wouldn't take more than three minutes of your precious time to read the whole page.**

 ***Yes, the ancient weapons are present in this story. The stone of gelel is the first one, named "Poseidon". The second weapon has been mentioned in earlier chapters, can you guess what it is?**

 ***Tenten's ability is a weird mixture between Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail), Archer (Fate/stay night) and Bayonetta. She can basically conjure weapons from either her own mind like Archer or from a pocket-dimension like Erza, take your pick, the process is still the same either way. And she also has telekinetic control of her weapons like Bayonetta (I know she uses magic but let's just say it's telekinesis), which allows her to shoot from the guns at her heels. The name of her ability along with Sakura's ability will be revealed next chapter.**

 ***The gun "Hades" is taken from an Anime/Manga called "Black Cat".**

 ***The four guns "Blue Ardor " are based on the "Love is Blue" guns from Bayonetta 2.**

 ***Yes, Menma x Sakura are a confirmed pairing as of this moment.**

 ***Yes, Hanare is Kabuto's girlfriend, and yes, Kabuto had a girlfriend before Naruto, but Naruto married before him. Actually as a little Trivia, in the present timeline of the story, Hanare is Kabuto's fiancée. Now I know that some people are going to be so salty and petty about this for one reason or another, and I honestly don't care, I said before that** **if and when** **a girl in the Harem makes her first appearance, I will mention it in an author note at the end of the chapter along with an updated harem list. The last chapter didn't have an updated harem list, and so you should have known that Hanare is not part of the Harem, I'm talking to anyone who is salty that she won't be getting any Naruto D. Accept it, live with it and move on, or curse it, leave it behind and forget all about it, the choice is all yours.**

 **Guess I don't have anything else to say other than see you in the next chapter!**

 **Sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.**

 **Please wait for the next update and I hope that it will be soon, thank you for taking the time to read this!**

 **Thank you for your reviews, both the positive ones and the negative!**

 **Kudo Shiho Out!**


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